Sunrise Sherbet
by Empress-Eerian-Sadow
Summary: Yuffie x Vincent Just before the battle with Sephiroth, Yuffie and Vincent realize they have feelings for each other. Now they have to deal with them, along with the postMeteor world. rating due to language and violence. we all know how cid talks
1. sunrise

A/N: I know, I know. I promised regular updates for my other stuff, and no more new stories for a while. I didn't mean to, I promise. But I was playing through FF7 again (bet ya didn't guess!) and here it was. Actually, it was just the title at first (and wasn't that wierd! Usually I have to force out a title at gunpoint.) and I built the story up around that. Horrible form, I know. But some things can't be helped.   
  
Anyway! Review whore that I am, I would love to have more, but I will be finishing this story wether anyone tells me they like it or not! (But I hope ya like it!) Criticism is always welcome, but flames are used to light my incense and for nothing else.  
  
Enjoy the fic all.  
  
Ta!

* * *

"It'll be light soon. We should be going back now."  
  
"I know. I just want to see the sunrise. Just in case, you know?"  
  
"I know." Vincent walked up and took Yuffie's hand in his own. "I'm glad that I'm not the only one to go back and join Cloud and Tifa."  
  
"Me too. Some things are too important to just forget about. Even when the world is about to end."  
  
Briefly, he thought of Lucrecia. And of Sephiroth, the boy who could have been his. He didn't feel the usual regret at the thought, however. Only a faint sorrow and a wish that things had been different for the boy. "Yes," he looked at the young ninja at his side. "Some things are."  
  
The two stared off over the mountains as the sky began to shift colors, painting itself with oranges, pinks and yellows. He was struck by its beauty, and then surprised by the fact he'd noticed. He really was changing.  
  
Yuffie stared, enraptured by the sunrise. She moved closer to Vincent and leaned her head on his arm. She sighed in contentment. She felt safe here, with him, even though the Highwind was far enough away that monsters wouldn't be deterred by its presence. Even the things that lived inside him didn't scare her anymore.  
  
When had that happened? Not that it mattered. It was just the way it was now. She sighed again, wishing this morning never had to end.  
  
"What are you thinking, Yuffie?"  
  
"That I don't want this morning to end." She giggled, suddenly being struck by a thought. "And that the sky looks like rainbow sherbet."  
  
"What?" Her comment was so out of the mood that he was having trouble processing it.  
  
"Seriously, look." She pointed. "There's the strawberry. And the lemon. And the orange. The clouds even make it look just a little frosty, like its just been served." She beamed up at him, amused that she'd perplexed him so.  
  
He blinked a few times, the grinned slowly. "I suppose it does, at that." He looked down into her brown eyes. "Thank you for making me smile this day, Yuffie Kisaragi."  
  
"You're welcome." She was more than a bit stunned that she'd actually seen him smile, and not just imagined it.  
  
She was even more surprised when he kissed her.  
  
When they broke apart, she had to resist the urge to pull him back down to her. "Um, we should go, if we want to beat Cloud and Tifa back to the ship."  
  
"Yes." His hand still wrapped around hers, he began the walk back to the airship.  
  
Willingly, the young ninja followed. "Um, Vincent? Why'd you kiss me?"  
  
"Because I wanted to. As you said, some things are too important to just forget about."  
  
She fell silent, turning the thought over in her mind. A few minutes later, she nodded coming to a decision. "Well, I'm glad you did. Oh, look! There are Cloud and Tifa! They look so cute sleeping together like that!"  
  
Vincent shook his head at the girl's shift of thought and wondered what he was getting himself into. 


	2. fear

A/N: Well, despite everything going on in my life right now, I've managed to get this posted, just like I promised Ezri-Candy that I would. Yay me! Hmmm...You know, I just realized that I really don't have much to say about this chapter. So, on with the story!  
  
DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I don't the rights to the final fantasy series, the characters in it or anything else right now.

* * *

The climb down into the North Crater was enough to rattle anyone. All the long way down, the group had been attacked, harassed, mobbed and ambushed by any number of fiendish monsters. Dark dragons leaped at them from the shadows, and tonberry kings ambushed from small cracks in the walls. Marlboros lay in wait anywhere there was room for them to grow on the narrow paths down. Everyone was so exhausted when they reached the bottom, that Cloud decided to call a rest for the night an hour before planned.  
  
After dinner, they broke the night into watches so that nothing would sneak up on them and kill them in their sleep. Somehow, no one doubted that Sephiroth would manage to find a way to send the monsters after them while they were incautious. Cait Sith and Cid took the first watch, since Reeve hadn't been present for the actual climb or the fighting and Cid had acted mostly as a healer today. Barret and Nanaki took the second watch since they both functioned well on only a few hours of sleep. Yuffie and Vincent were left the third watch since their dark vision was better than the others. Cloud and Tifa would be taking the dawn watch, so that the physically strongest member of the group could keep an eye out for early morning predators and the martial artist could make breakfast. The watches had been set up this way since the gunman and the ninja joined the group, an old and familiar routine that usually made Yuffie feel more secure.  
  
So, of course, it wasn't working this time. After the trip down the crater, the night was entirely too quiet. Neither of the previous watches had seen anything, not even a bug, come near the camp. It was making her edgy, jumpy and more than a little nervous. She hadn't been this nervous since they'd shared the watch after the first time she saw Vincent transform into Hellmasker in combat. She hadn't known his secret then, and it had scared her the way Sephiroth did. Vincent's complete silence tonight wasn't helping either.  
  
The two of them were sitting on a rock shelf, backs turned to the fire so that their night vision would be less impaired, wrapped in blankets. Normally, they would be talking--something they had started doing the night Vincent had scared her so badly. But tonight, apparently, he didn't have anything to say.  
  
Vincent's lack of desire to talk didn't matter. If Yuffie didn't hear someone's voice soon, she was going to scream. "Vincent?"  
  
"Hmm?" The gunman seemed distracted, but at least he'd answered.  
  
"Ya wanna talk about something? Its spooky out here tonight and I need to get my mind off of it."  
  
"We know." Vincent blinked, then turned to look at her. "Chaos and I are not at all comfortable with this. The night is too quiet, so we were listening for surprises."  
  
"Oh." Usually, when Vincent talked in the plural like that, it creeped her out, but this time Yuffie realized that she felt a tiny bit better because of it. "Well, don't let me keep you. I know that I want to know if something is coming out of the shadows to eat us."  
  
**_Vincent?_**  
  
The former Turk sighed. "Yes, Chaos?" He'd discovered weeks ago that his conversations with his own personal demon bothered Yuffie less if his half was aloud.  
  
_**The girl is afraid.  
**_  
"I'd noticed. And what am I supposed to do about it?"  
  
_**Don't be a fool, Vincent. You know what to do about it. And don't think I don't know that you want to.**_ He could hear the smirk in the demon's voice.  
  
"Vincent, what's going on?" Yuffie winced at the tremor in her voice.  
  
Vincent started at the terror in her voice. _Good gods, she's terrified!_  
  
_**I told you.  
**_  
_Be silent demon.  
_  
"Vince?" The ninja's voice trembled, and Vincent noticed that she was beginning to look more than a bit panicked.  
  
"Yuffie, its all right." He snaked his clawed arm out from under his blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "There's nothing out there. Chaos and I were just talking."  
  
Yuffie responded to his touch and reassuring words by wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his side. "I'm so scared, Vincent. I don't…I don't want to die."  
  
"I know. I don't either. Not anymore."  
  
"What if Sephiroth is too strong? What…what if we can't stop him?"  
  
"We will stop him. He is not too strong for all of us together."  
  
"I wish I had your confidence."  
  
They sat in silence then. Vincent's arm around her made Yuffie feel more secure; she trusted his words that nothing was lurking in the darkness. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was never going to see Wutai--or her father--again. Softly, she began to cry.  
  
When Vincent heard Yuffie's first choked sobs, he used his good hand to pull her onto his lap and then wrap his blanket around the two of them. Then he rocked her the way his mother had rocked him when he was young. A few tears of his own ran down his cheeks, falling to land in the young ninja's hair.  
  
"Shhh, Yuffie. Its all right."  
  
"No its not!" she wailed. "I'm never gonna see Wutai or my dad or anybody again! I'm gonna die here!"  
  
Not much surprised Vincent anymore, but hearing that statement from this vibrant, lively girl sent the gunman into a shocked silence. _She thinks she's going to die._  
  
Chaos chose to use this thought as a form of address. _**I heard. I think that we should not let her.**_  
  
_I agree._ "Yuffie, you are not going to die here. I'll protect you."  
  
_**We'll protect her.  
**_  
But Yuffie heard neither promise; she'd cried herself to sleep.  
  



	3. deep conversation

A/N: I know, I know. Two and three are really short and could prolly be just one chapter. I just felt that they needed to be broken up so that the conversations with Chaos and Tifa had more impact. Hopefully my next post will be up by Wednesday--its going to be the fight with Sephiroth and the whole meteor/holy/lifestream thing, and i want to make sure i get it right, so I'm having issues. But never fear, i shall return!  
  
DISCLAIMER: Still not mine. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.

* * *

_Chaos?  
  
**Vincent.**  
  
Why are you so adamant about protecting Yuffie?  
  
**She taught you to live. Keeping her alive seems a fair trade.  
**  
…I don't understand.  
  
**Only because you're afraid to. She makes you happy, Vincent. And if I must live inside your head, I would like it to be a more pleasant place than it was before.**  
  
Do you like her?  
  
**…  
**  
That's not an answer.  
  
**…Yes.**_  
  
_Good. Because I think I've fallen in love with her.  
  
**I know. I think--**_  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by the chirping of the alarm that Cloud had set on his PHS.  
  
**_Cloud and Tifa will be here soon. Tell them good morning.  
_**  
Vincent heard blankets being flipped back, and cursing at the cold air. The scuffing of shoes on the rocks nearby told him that someone was approaching him. The lightness of the steps told him it was Tifa; Cloud would have made the louder clomping steps of someone wearing heavy combat boots.  
  
"Chaos says good morning, Tifa."  
  
"But not you, I notice." Tifa walked around the rock so that she was facing him. "What's wrong with Yuffie?"  
  
"She had a panic attack last night. I felt it best that she sleep afterward."  
  
"On your lap?" She gave the gunman a half-smile and a raised eyebrow.  
  
"It helped her remain calm after the attack passed." Vincent looked down at Yuffie's dark hair, refusing to meet the knowing look Tifa was giving him.  
  
After a long moment, Tifa relented. "Well, you should try to get some more sleep before we go. I'll help you lay her down." She picked up the ninja's abandoned blanket.  
  
"If you could carry Death Penalty as well, I would appreciate it. I will carry Yuffie." He inclined his head toward the gun's resting place on the rock beside him.  
  
"Sure." Tifa picked it up as Vincent carefully got to his feet.  
  
He carried the young ninja the way he would have a small child--as if she weighed nothing but was the most precious thing in the world. Tifa's face lit with a smile at the care he took with the girl.  
  
_She's so light. She must be all bone and muscle.  
  
**Indeed. Is that a bad thing, Vincent?**  
  
No. I was just surprised._  
  
"Put her down on my bed, Vincent." Tifa was holding up the blankets from her pallet. "It'll be a little warmer than hers is right now."  
  
Vincent nodded and lay Yuffie gently on the pile of blankets. Then he took off his own blanket and tucked it around her still sleeping form. Tifa quickly piled on her own blankets. Then they walked toward the fire that Cloud was coaxing back into roaring life with Cid's lighter fluid.  
  
"You really should get some more rest, Vincent." She handed him Yuffie's blanket.  
  
He took it, and began folding it up. "I could not sleep, even if I wanted to."  
  
"Nerves?" They stopped next to the packs containing their rations and began pulling out food for breakfast.  
  
"Yuffie." _Shit. What made me say that?_  
  
"I thought so." The martial artist smiled up at him brightly. "I'm glad you're finally finding something to be happy about."  
  
Vincent stood in an uncomfortable silence as Tifa went back to preparing breakfast. Then he sad down and, taking a knife from the pack, began slicing bread. Tifa waited patiently for him to speak as she skewered fruit and vegetables for kabobs.  
  
"Tifa?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Is it wrong for me to love her? She's so young…" He looked at her with some of his old anguish in his eyes.  
  
She reached over with her right hand and laid it comfortingly over his own. "Love is never wrong, Vincent. If she makes you happy, then hang on for all you're worth." 


	4. heart to hearts

Hey gang! Sorry its been sooooooo long. Thngs have been major crazy around ehre. To top off the last of a line of really crappy thing around here, I nearly got evicted from my apartment because my ex-roommate owed the complex money and couldn't get off her butt to pay it. But hopefully this situation has been resolved completely now. (supposedly she's sent the money, but we'll see.)

And hey, I got my first ever flame for this fic, even if this guy -Hankercheift ghost claims its not. His review was nothing but one big bitch-fest. All I can say to that is dude, if you can't even manage to read the whole posted fic before you complain, you are beyond looserness. If you want to complain, do it to a rock, don't try to camoflage it in a "constructive" review. If you want to be constructive or complementary, then go for it. YOU DON'T' HAVE TO LIKE THE STORY TO BE CONSTRUCTIVE WHEN YOU REVIEW THO! steps off soapbox sorry. Had to get that out. Dude bugged me and ezri-candy both with that one.

But anyway! Here's chapter four. Don't worry, I hate the way it ends too. But things were getting forced and that's no way to write. I'll finish up the fight scenes with Jenova and Sephiroth in chapter five, and have what I'd written for five become six. I've got this new job tho, so it could be as long as a week before I get five out. Sorry.

But, enjoy the fic! TTYL!

Disclaimer (as read by Reno of the Turks): Empress-Eerian-Sadow does not own Final Fantasy Seven, its characters or its settings. She is, however the coolest Sith Lord ever, and lets us come over to her house to play.

**Chapter 4**

During the morning's watch, and breakfast, Cloud had ample opportunity to survey their camping grounds and decide on their course of action. They'd camped in a plateau with two trail—one on the left side of camp and one on the right. When they broke camp after breakfast, Cloud announced that they would be splitting into two groups of four and exploring both trails in the hopes of finding Sephiroth sooner.

"So, Cloud, which way you goin'?" Barret asked.

"I'll take the right," the blond replied. "Tifa, Vincent, I'd like you with me."

"All right," Tifa replied. Vincent just nodded.

"Cid, Barett, Nanaki, you three work well together. I'd like you to go left." Cloud looked to Yuffie, who was looking at her feet nervously, and Cait Sith, who was standing still for once. "Both groups could use both of you. I'll let you choose your team."

Yuffie looked at Cloud, then at Barett and finally at Cait Sith. "Uh…I…I don't wanna make anyone mad…"

"Its okay, Yuffie," Reeve told her. "I'll go join the boy's club and be deprived of the company of the two cutest girls on the entire Planet."

His statement got a laugh out of everyone, and went a long way toward easing Yuffie's nervousness. She hadn't' really known how to say she wanted to be in Cloud's group because Vincent made her feel safe. She wasn't on the edge of hysteria like last night, but it wouldn't take much to push her onto it—or over. A repeat performance of that wouldn't do anyone any good.

As Cait Sith bounded over towards the left trail, Yuffie walked over to Vincent and took his hand, lacing her fingers through his. Vincent glanced down at their joined hands and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"All right everybody," Cloud said, pre-empting any reply Vincent might have made. "This will be the end of it. One way or another, we're taking Sephiroth down. Let's move!"

And everyone did.

* * *

The right hand trail quickly turned into a ledge winding around an oddly shaped stone column. It led down at least a mile, and was so narrow in spots that the party was forced to hug the wall single file. Vincent was glad the narrow space discouraged monster attacks.

**_At least the view is nice_**, Chaos remarked. **_Look up and admire it for a moment, Vincent._**

The gunman's attention hadn't been on the view of the cavern, but on the terrain ahead. It still unnerved him, from time to time, that Chaos could be looking out his eyes at the same place and see something entirely different than he did. But he'd long ago learned not to ignore the demon when he wanted something.

So, he stopped and looked up, taking a moment to admire the natural beauty of the cave. The fissure they'd come into the cavern through filtered the morning sunlight down to them in an aurora-like ribbon. It was complimented by phosphorescent fungus that lent the entire cave the feel of the early morning sky over Icicle Inn.

_It is beautiful,_ Vincent told the demon, with a slightly wistful sigh.

"Hey, Vinnie, whatcha lookin' at?" Yuffie asked suddenly from his side.

Naturally, Tifa and Cloud turned to look at him as well.

"Is something wrong, Vincent?" Tifa asked warily.

The gunslinger shook his head. "Chaos merely noted the scenery and wanted a better look."

The worried look dropped off Tifa's face as she looked up to see what the demon had found so fascinating. Cloud and Yuffie looked up as well.

"Wow," Yuffie murmured. "Who'd've ever thought we'd see a view like this a mile underground?"

"Definitely not me," Cloud replied.

"I wonder if the view is as good where the others are," Tifa remarked.

"I dunno, But we need to get going," Cloud told her.

Yuffie and Tifa sighed. "If we have to…" they said in unison, then burst into a fit of giggles

Vincent caught Cloud's gaze and rolled his eyes at the girls' antics. Cloud raised an eyebrow and twitched a shoulder in a shrug of reply.

The message was pretty clear: Who can figure these two out?

Chaos chuckled. **_And these are the strong women the two of you managed to fall in love with._**

_What? Cloud and Tifa? Truly?_

_**You are truly dense if you hadn't noticed that, Vincent Valentine.**_

_Then perhaps I should change my name to lead, because I did not notice._

_**By the hellgods that spawned me, Vincent! Did you just make a joke?**_

_Hm. Must be Yuffie's incredibly bad influence._

"Hey, Vince! Move it!" Yuffie called from ahead on the trail.

"Coming," he called back.

* * *

Yuffie sat down heavily at the plateaued base of the column. "Hang on a sec, Cloud. I'm dizzy." Theatrically she placed her right hand on her forehead for effect.

"Yuffie, we really don't have time to be sitting around," Cloud told her with a scowl.

"Yeah, well, I can't fight if I can't walk in a straight line. Two minutes, Cloud. That's all I need."

"Fine. But we're not staying longer. We've been lucky so far, but the monsters won't leave us alone forever."

"Okay."

Vincent sat down on the ground next to her when Cloud was done speaking. "How are you?"

"I'm all right," the ninja replied. Her words did not match the tension in her demeanor.

"Yuffie, be truthful. How are you truly?"

She shrugged. "I'm scared, but I'll be okay. No attacks of big baby again, I promise."

"No one is faulting you for last night," he told her, taking her hand in his. "In fact, I'm honored that you felt you could tell me what was troubling you."

"Really?"

"Indeed. I am glad that you are so comfortable with me. And I am here if you need me again."

_**Well said, Vincent.**_

"Thanks, Vince." She smiled shyly. "I hope I don't have to take you up on that." She gave his hand a squeeze. "Let's go, before Cloud blows a gasket."

"Are you certain you are ready?"

"Sure." She stood up and spun around in a circle. "See? Good as gold. Hey Vince, did you know there's a chest behind you?"

"What?" Her statement wasn't anything close to what he'd expected from her.

She sighed. "Behind you. A chest. You know, those things that hold useful items." She walked over to it and flipped the latch open. "I must have been sittin' in front of it. Oo, hey, armor!"

Vincent took the armlet out of her hand. "Cloud will be glad to see this. Even if it isn't the strongest we could have acquired."

"Yup. Now he can stop being grumpy at me."

"Yuffie! Let's go!" Cloud shouted


	5. scary things

lookie everybody! i've managed another update for this finally! yay me! its been some freaking slow going lately. i just couldn't manage to make any progress, no matter how much i wanted to write. then, as i was working at the service desk the other day, i had this idea suddenly pop into my head that FINALLY worked. i know i said that the fight with Sephiroth would take place in this chapter, but i changed it again. that really will be next chapter--i'm putting the finishing touches on it as you're reading this. then there will be like five more chapters pretty hot on that one's heels, since i had a lot of other work done on this already.

if everything goes according to plan, i'll have the climax around chapter nine or so, and the whole shebang should be done by chapter fifteen. i hope. but we'll see. these things have a way of just sneaking around on you.

ttfn  
eerian

DISCLAIMER: i don't own final fantasy. i'm not making money here. i humbly ask that no one sue me.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Hey, Cloud, catch!" the swordsman's hand came up almost reflexively to catch the armband Yuffie threw at his head.

"A mystle," he said, turning it over in his hands. "Where did you find this?"

"In a chest, over where I was sitting. See, we never would have found it if I hadn't needed to stop." Vincent was amazed that the ninja managed to fake her normal demeanor so easily with Cloud.

"Yeah, thanks," Cloud muttered in reply.

Yuffie walked over to join Tifa as she looked down over the edge of the trail at the ground below. To the left and about a quarter mile out was what looked like a pool of Lifestream. To the right, and a little closer, was a field of oddly broken rocks and a golden light. "So, where we going now?"

"Cloud says right. He says he's pretty sure he feels Sephiroth that way." Tifa looked a little unsure as she said these words.

"Feels?" Yuffie raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure she was comfortable with the fighter's words.

"I don't really understand myself," Tifa told her. "But that's what he says, and it's the best lead we have."

"Can't argue there," Yuffie said.

"So, ladies," Vincent said from right behind Yuffie's shoulder. She yelped and clapped a hand to her chest. "Are we moving on or not? Cloud's gone quite a bit ahead."

Yuffie shot him the dirtiest look she could. "You did that on purpose."

Vincent smiled at her as Tifa ran to catch up to Cloud. "Of course I did. The opportunity you presented was too good to pass up. You must be rubbing off on me."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "And I wanted another moment with you before the moment was gone."

"Hurry up you two!" Cloud bellowed, sounding well past annoyed with them.

"And its gone," Yuffie said, tilting her head to look up at him.

"So it is." He gave her a quick kiss. "We'd better hurry."

Quickly, the scrambled over the ledge and dropped to the ground where Cloud and Tifa were waiting. Without saying anything to them, Cloud turned and stomped off. Tifa gave them both a knowing look and a smile, reminding Yuffie of Aeris for a moment. Then she turned and ran to catch up to Cloud. Vincent and Yuffie followed quickly behind.

As they entered the field of "oddly shaped rocks" Yuffie realized that they looked a lot like something else.

"Um…Guys? Do these look like eggshells to anyone else?"

"A little," Tifa replied, taking a closer look at the rocks. "Or a lot."

"Creepy," Yuffie muttered.

Wordlessly, Vincent took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Smiling slightly, she squeezed back.

They threaded their way through what Yuffie dubbed—in her mind, anyway—the Hatching ground. When they reached the shaft that the gold light was emanating from, the opinion was reinforced for her.

The way down from there was the spine and ribcage of some giant monster.

"Oh, man," the ninja said. "I think I'm beginning to be afraid of climbing down stuff."

"Don't worry, Yuffie," Tifa said. "Its dead."

"Sure, this one is. But what if there's more?"

"Then we fight it off, and keep going toward Sephiroth," Cloud replied. "Quit worrying and keep moving."

"Don't worry," Vincent whispered in her ear. "If you fall, I'll catch you."

Carefully, they made their way down the spine, with no mishaps. They touched down onto a path winding down a shaft of Lifestream energy.

"He's down there," Cloud said. "He's waiting for us. I can feel him."

"Then let us not keep him any longer," Vincent replied.

"Right."

They all began making their way down the winding ledge. It was barely wide enough for three people to walk abreast, and Vincent was worried about the consequences if they should have to fight.

_**Don't worry, Valentine. We'll catch them if they fall.**_

_What?_

_**Your friends. If they fall, we'll catch them.**_

_Thank you._

Something scuffed in the rocks somewhere behind them, and Vincent turned from his conversation with the demon to look into the mouth of the cave they'd just passed. Seeing nothing in the immediate vicinity, he drew Death Penalty and stepped into the darkness.

* * *

"God dammit, Valentine! Get that fucking thing outta my face!"

Yuffie jumped at the unexpected shout, and turned to look for Vincent. She saw Tifa doing the same out of the corner of her eye. They spotted him coming out of a cave they'd just passed, shaking his head a bit ruefully. He was followed by Cid, Barret, Cait Sith and Nanaki.

"Vincent, what happened?" she asked.

"Fucker pulled his gun on me," Cid replied for him as he shoved his way past the girls to Cloud.

"Do what?" the ninja looked to the gunman for a better explanation.

"I heard noise from the cave, and approached with my weapon drawn."

"Oh."

"That's a relief," Tifa put in. "I know his language and smoking can get to you, but I didn't really think you'd pull a gun on him."

Everyone just looked at Tifa for a long moment. "I don't think your joke worked," Cait Sith told her solemnly.

"Yeah," she replied. "I think you're right."

After Cid's party added a few items to their stash, the group continued on down the path. It tapered off as they were walking, forcing them into single file. When the path ended, it became a series of floating islands, suspended over a glowing pool of Lifestream energy.

"Well shit," Barret said. "Now whadda we do?"

"We keep going. He's down there," Cloud told him.

"You mean jumping across the islands?" Yuffie wasn't afraid of the jumping—her skills were far above average for that. But those islands were hanging in thin air! _What if they fall?_

"Yes, jumping across the islands," Cloud replied.

Her panic threatened to rear its head again, but then she remembered Vincent's earlier words to her. _If you fall, I'll catch you._ "Okay. Let's get—"

Something roared above them; almost in unison, the group looked up. Coming down the path, and over the cliffs above, were countless monsters.

"Holy shit," Barret exclaimed.

"Look at the number…" Nanaki sounded a bit awed.

"Fuck us!" Cid's cigarette dropped from his hand to the ground as he readied his spear. "They're coming out in full force!"

"Cloud, get outta here! Go get to Sephiroth!" Barret wore a determined expression as he checked the ammo in his gun.

"No way," Cloud told him, unsheathing Ultima Weapon. "I'm not leaving you guys here."

"You must!" Vincent was already firing into the mass of monsters, hoping to weaken some of them before they descended on the group. "If we all stay here and die, the world is lost!"

"He's right, Cloud," Tifa said. "You should take two of us and go."

After a moment that stretched into eternity, Cloud nodded. "All right. Vincent, Tifa, you're with me. Everyone else, later."

"Yeah, later," Barret yelled, following Vincent's example and firing into the mass of monsters.

Yuffie grabbed Vincent's arm before he could follow Cloud too far. "Be careful."

"And you." Vincent planted a quick kiss on her lips before pulling free of her grip and following their leader.

Hearing a roar behind her, Yuffie turned and flung Conformer into a dark dragon that was far too close for comfort. From there, it didn't take long before her world narrowed down to the monster in front of her and the shouts of her teammates around her. How long she'd been there didn't matter, her location didn't matter. Even the items and gil the monsters were dropping didn't matter.

All that mattered was buying enough time for Cloud, Tifa and Vincent to get to Sephiroth.

She knew none of them were leaving here alive. The only way out was the path the others had taken, and as soon as one of them tried to break for it, the monsters would be on them.

She wished she'd said goodbye to Vincent.

Then, as she pulled her arm back to fling Conformer at a tonberry king, the ground heaved, and Yuffie found herself flying through the air next to Cait Sith. As they came back down, she realized that the ledge they'd been on was gone.

And then they were falling, and Vincent wasn't there to catch her after all…


	6. one winged angel

well, gang, it was a great sense of relief and accomplishment that i got this chapter finished at 7:50 CST last night. (that's central standard time, for those who don't know. i'm from kansas and all). its been a real bear to get done, mostly because i lost the origonal draft for chapters 4-6. this would have all been up a looooong time ago if that hadn't happened, because this was all done back in like, february or something like that. chapters 7-10 should be up pretty quickly, as the origonal draft for those is finished, all i have to do is type them. yay!

be warned--the ending segments for the game have been completely re-written. i took the words artistic liberty to heart here. i always thought that scene where they were floating with Sephy before the final boss fights was so incredibly STUPID that i redid it. i like it much better in my story. hope you do too!

enjoy, and reveiw as appropriate if you would! TTYL  
eerian

**DISCLAIMER: **all i own is the concept behind this fic. no characters, settings, or anything else. not making money either.

**

* * *

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**Chapter 6**

Sometime during their fall after defeating JENOVA, Vincent whited out. He was brought back to consciousness by Tifa's groan of pain. A sentiment he could whole heartedly agree with, thanks to the throbbing in his head.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked. "Are you all right?"

Tifa's reply was preempted by Yuffie's wail of, "Oh my _God!_ My head's gonna explode!"

Vincent looked to his left to see the ninja hanging in mid-air, head in hands. _Good. She's all right._

"Yuffie?" Cloud asked. "Is everyone here?"

"I believe so," Nanaki replied, from across the circle they were in.

"But where the fuck is here?" Cid asked.

**_An excellent question._** Chaos put in. **_I've never seen anyplace quite like this before._**

_Neither have I. _Vincent looked at their surroundings with some trepidation.

The group was suspended in mid-air, the floor of the cavern they were now in nowhere in sight. There were a few boulders suspended in the greenish-white misted air, but that was all. With no ground to stand on, any combat they encountered would be difficult—only he and Barret would be at their full fighting capacity.

As he thought that, Sephiroth appeared—and Vincent felt his blood chill. The general would have no problems fighting without his feet on the ground.

Sephiroth laughed maniacally, almost as if he could sense the gunslinger's thoughts.

Cloud scowled and drew his sword. "Sephiroth!"

The white-haired general looked at the blond swordsman and waved his hand dismissively. "You cannot possibly stop me."

"We can, Sephiroth. And we will," Cloud told him.

Sephiroth doubled over laughing, as if Cloud's statement was the funniest joke he'd ever heard. "You are more of a fool now than you were when you served in Shinra's army! Have you learned nothing?" He spread his arms wide and looked skyward. "I am a god!"

Before he could consciously register what he was doing, Vincent leveled Death Penalty at Lucrecia's son and fired. "Here ends my penance," he whispered as the bullet left the muzzle.

Slowly, the general looked at his left shoulder, where the bullet had hit. He raised his hand to the wound, touching it with gloved fingers. Lifting those fingers to his eyes, his expression shifted from shock to anger.

Sephiroth lifted blazing eyes to Vincent. "You would dare?"

Vincent looked back at Sephiroth, impassive. Inwardly, his emotions were raging—his flight instinct was telling him to run like the wind. He did nothing, however, except meet Sephiroth's gaze down the barrel of his rifle.

"You. Will. Die." Sephiroth told him.

Faintly, Vincent heard Yuffie's startled gasp as Sephiroth began to transform.

* * *

To say that Sephiroth's new form was frightening would have been to understate the situation. To say that it was absolutely terrifying would be much more appropriate.

He'd become an oddly segmented beast, gargantuan and grotesque. He looked almost inscetoid with his multiple segments and his arms that ended in feathery, cilia-like extensions. He no longer had true hands, and his face wasn't entirely recognizable as his own.

Since Sephiroth's transformation had been so sudden, Yuffie was not prepared to find herself falling to a rocky floor. She was, in fact, still staring at him in horror as she fell, landing on her butt with a tooth jarring thump.

"Ow! Hey! Where'd the ground come from?"

"Doesn't matter," Cloud replied. Then he started shouting orders. "Barret, Cid, take the right. Nanaki, Vincent, Yuffie, left. Tifa, Reeve, we'll take him head on."

The ninja was silently glad that he'd broken up the teams like that. She wouldn't' have to worry about what was happing to Vincent while he was right next to her. And he was good at covering her back while she recovered from some of her stronger attacks. She was still scared spitless, but at least she knew Vincent would be there for her.

As Yuffie dashed to Sephiroth's left side, she heard Barret's machine gun fire, signaling the true start of the fight. She tossed Conformer at Sephiroth's head, and was disappointed when he deflected the brunt of the attack with one feathery arm.

After Yuffie's initial attack, she Vincent and Nanaki quickly fell into an attack pattern that, combined with the slightly more random attacks of the others, Sephiroth seemed to have trouble anticipating.

First, Nanaki would either cast a spell or attack physically. If he'd attacked, Vincent would shoot, covering his retreat. If he'd cast, Vincent would summon. Yuffie alternated between attacking and healing. It was a system that worked well, and kept them all on their feet.

The fight dragged on for almost ten minutes before Yuffie realized why their attacks kept taking Sephiroth by surprise. The general wasn't even fighting any team except Cloud's. He only bothered with the other teams when they launched a devastating attack on him. This realization gave her a renewed strength—if they could take out Sephiroth while he was distracted by Cloud, then everything would finally be over.

"Red, Vincent! We need to hit him as hard as we can while he's distracted with Cloud!" she shouted to her companions.

"What do you suggest?" Vincent asked as Nanaki cast a Fire spell on Sephiroth.

"Well, you slam him with Ultima or Bahamut Zero. Nanaki hits him with that Cosmo Memory I know he's been saving up." She tossed Conformer at Sephiroth, clipping him in the shoulder. "And I'll hit him with All Creation. Then we can go from there."

"It is as good a plan as any," Nanaki agreed. "If we can drop his defenses, the others may be able to defeat him."

"Indeed." Vincent held his arms out from his sides. "Bahamut Zero, come forth!"

Although they never saw the giant dragon during the summoning, his Tetra Flare attack hit Sephiroth dead on. Red XIII immediately followed the attack with Cosmo Memory before the general could recover. As the glow faded from Red's attack, Yuffie could see that Sephiroth had turned his head and was looking directly at them. Before he could counter attack, she took a deep breath and released All Creation.

As always, she was astounded by the energy coursing through her body as she released the attack. She felt like she could do anything, be anything. She could understand how Sephiroth could have a god complex—she certainly felt like one now.

And then, the power left her and slammed into Sephiroth. He recoiled a bit, as if in pain, then launched a fallen angel attack at them. Through her haze of pain, Yuffie could hear Cid, and then Barret, following their lead and attacking Sephiroth with Dragon Dive and Catastrophe. Sephiroth took time to fling a fire spell at Yuffie before turning to the other group.

The last thing she was aware of before she fell unconscious was Vincent's voice.

"Yuffie! Hold on."

* * *

Vincent wasn't precisely worried about Yuffie's condition when she fell. He was actually more worried about his—or Nanaki's ability to get to her in their own weakened states. She wasn't dead yet, but he knew she would be without some quick intervention.

As he was pulling out a phoenix down from one of his pockets, the cavern they were in was engulfed in a bright, white light. He was briefly blinded, and when he could see again, Sephiroth was gone.

And so were Cloud, Tifa and Cait Sith.

"Where are they?" Nanaki asked.

"How the hell are we supposed to know?" Cid replied as he and Barret came around from their side of the cavern.

Vincent threw the phoenix down on Yuffie, ignoring the bickering that broke out between Cid, Barret and Nanaki. They always fought when they were stressed or worried, and Vincent had more important things on his mind than their fight.

Please, be all right, Yuffie… 

He was immensely relieved when Yuffie opened her eyes and asked, "Did we get 'im, Vinnie?"

Barret answered for him. "Dunno, kid. He's gone, but so's Cloud, Tifa and the damn cat."

"Well, then, what do we do?" She accepted the hand Vincent extended to her and got to her feet.

"I say we get the fuck outta here," Cid replied. "We don't know where they are, and it ain't safe to stay here."

As if to emphasized Cid's words, the ground below their feet shuddered.

"As much as I would like to look for the others," Nanaki added, "I must agree with Cid. There is no point in staying here at risk to our own lives when we do not know where to begin searching."

Vincent took Yuffie's hand and began pulling her to the cavern wall. "Come. We climb. If we get high enough, Cid can call the Highwind to pick us up."

Carefully, clinging tightly to the walls when tremors threatened to shake them off, the diminished party began to climb.

* * *

Vincent had never been so glad to see daylight as he was when they emerged into it from the depths of the Northern Crater. Their ascent had been almost as torturous—though much faster—as their descent. Though they were never attacked, they were nearly trampled on several occasions by monsters stampeding in fear. The tremors and earthquakes had dropped rocks on them and tried to throw them from cliff walls and ledges. They'd had to make their way over, or around, collapsed sections of the caves—often having to venture into unexplored territory as a result.

But, somehow, they'd managed to all survive and make their way back outside. Relieved, he used his claw to hold himself steady while Cid used his PHS to call the Highwind.

"We're gonna make it, right, Vincent?" Yuffie asked nervously.

"We are," Vincent replied. _We must. We've come to far not to._

**_Remember that the gods are never fair, Vincent,_** Chaos told him.

_I don't care. We _are _going to make it._

"Hurry up everybody!" Cid shouted at them as he began running for the crater lip. "Those losers in the Highwind are gonna meet us up there!"

As everyone broke into a run, Cloud's voice rang out from behind them. "Faster, guys! The crater's collapsing behind us!"

Vincent didn't know where the swordsman had come from, but the increasing earthquakes told him that Cloud spoke true. Looking over to make sure Yuffie was still there, he ran for the emerging form of the Highwind.


	7. falling

**more disclaimer: **i don't own final fantasy 7, its characters or any of its neat gadgets or cities. if i did, i'd be rich and not live in kansas any more. since i'm not, and i dont' i obviously make no money here.

**

* * *

Chapter 7**

Sephiroth's defeat hadn't changed anything. Meteor was still plummeting down toward the planet, despite everyone's best attempt to stop it.

Aeris' prayer for Holy had apparently gone unanswered.

Yuffie would have cried if the collapsing crater had given them any time. In her despair, she barely registered Vincent grabbing her by the hand and pulling her to the lip of the crater where the Highwind was descending to pick them up. An earthquake shook the ground and broke down the side of the crater, turning the world sideways.

She slid, then fell, feeling the world move away from her feet as open air greeted her horrified face.

* * *

"NO!" Vincent screamed, horrified as Yuffie's hand slid from his grasp. She was falling, and there really wasn't much he could do about it. His own grip on the crumbling rock was failing and in a moment he'd be freefalling behind her. 

_**Vincent, you idiot, we can save her.**_

_Chaos?_

_**Let me out, Vincent. I can save her. And us for that matter.**_

Vincent looked up from Yuffie's receding form at the Highwind. She was pulling away at high speed, leaving them behind. _They must serve the greater good. We knew some us might not make it home today._

Letting Chaos out was a small price to pay to save Yuffie—and himself. _Do it._

Vincent let go of the cliff.

I hurt, letting his demon out like that; it always did. Chaos breaking free was like having all his skin ripped loose and torn away, leaving blood and fire in its wake.

He knew he was screaming—how could he not be?—but he couldn't hear it. All his attention was split between Yuffie's falling body and the fire lancing through his own as Chaos broke free. Pure agony ripped through him as the demon's wings burst free from his back and his hands transformed into claws.

And then, the pain was gone. Like a switch being thrown, he traded places with the demon, and saw the world through Chaos' eyes.

The canyon and crater falling to pieces around them, like a child's block tower being toppled. And Yuffie, rendered in colors no human eye was meant to see, still falling, still unhurt. Chaos' attention was riveted on her.

Their freefall became a controlled dive as Chaos extended his wings. They would reach Yuffie in a few seconds. Vincent hoped the crater would give them that time.

* * *

Yuffie had closed her eyes, trying desperately to erase the look of horror on Vincent's face from her memory. If she was going to die, she didn't want to go thinking of him like that. 

Instead, she tried to remember the way it had felt as he held her last night. His strong arms had felt like the safest of shelters. And when he'd kissed her that morning, it had been like touching perfection.

If only she'd gotten to tell him how she felt about him. Tears built up under her eyelids and she wanted to sob.

"I'm sorry, Vincent." She knew the wind was carrying her words away from her, but it didn't matter; she would never know if he'd heard them or not. "I wish I'd said this before. I love you."

"I assure you, he was overjoyed to hear that," An unfamiliar voice said in her ear.

She snapped her eyes open as heavily muscled arms wrapped around her waist. Heavily muscled _black _arms.

"Chaos?" She looked up into the demon's face.

"In the flesh." He pulled her tight against his chest. "Hold on tight. This is going to be a wild flight."

She wrapped her arms around Chaos' neck, thinking that maybe she wouldn't die today after all.


	8. cold hard ground

:-O three chapters up in two days! omg! but hey, i told you the next few would be up pretty quickly. nothing special to say about this one, tho i may wait for some reviews of it before i put up chapter 9. we'll see.

eerian

DISCLAIMER THE VIII: still not mine. still poor. please don't sue.**

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Chapter 8

_Chaos! Did she really say she loved me?_ Despite how his heart had soared when they had heard her words, Vincent couldn't quite believe them.

_**Yes, Vincent. She did.**_

_Take care of her, Chaos. She's all I've got._

_**As if I would do any less. Now be silent and let me fly.**_

Chaos turned his attention back to the world in front of him. The entire mountain range was coming apart, and the boulders falling from the higher peaks made flying extremely difficult. He was beginning to doubt that they would make it out of the mountain, let alone back to the Highwind. Prudently, he kept this thought to himself.

He dodged a boulder, only to move into the path of several knife-edged rock shards. He growled with pain as he felt them tear through his right wing.

"Chaos?" Yuffie asked nervously. "What happened?"

"Nothing. We're fine." He was lying through his teeth, but worrying the girl wouldn't get them anywhere. He could feel himself losing altitude already.

And with holes in his wing, they'd never get enough lift to get them over the top of mountain.

_**I'm sorry, Vincent.**_

_It's all right. You did your best, my friend._

_**Vincent, thank you.**_

_For what?_

_**Calling me friend. No one has said that in a very long time.**_

The gunman didn't really have a reply for that. He hadn't even realized that Chaos _was_ his friend until this moment.

"Chaos, look out!" Vincent just had time to register Yuffie's scream as a huge boulder knocked them from the sky.

* * *

The first thing to come back to her was the pain. Yuffie ached everywhere. She opened her eyes to discover that she was laying face down in the dirt. Her left hand was laying in something warm and wet. She turned her head to look at it as she raised her hand.

Red. Her hand was coated in blood! Carefully, she sat up to check herself out and make sure it wasn't hers.

After a quick inspection, she decided that it probably wasn't, but she'd have to get Vincent check her back more thoroughly.

Her eyes widened in horror. What if it was Vincent's blood?

Shakily, she got to her feet to begin searching for Vincent. He could be anywhere, but she decided to start her search at the pool of blood her hand had been in. Since the blood hadn't been hers, all she needed to do was find its source, and she could eliminate one possible place where Vincent could be.

_Or not. Oh, Leviathan, what do I do if it is his?_

Finding a small trail of blood running downward to the pool her hand had been in, Yuffie followed it to its source. There, she found Vincent, pinned to the ground by—presumably—the boulder that had knocked them from the sky.

Yuffie looked at the stone in dismay. Even if she was strong enough to move the boulder, she couldn't do it alone without crushing most of his bones to dust. And probably all his organs too.

"Oh, Vincent." She moved over to him and knelt by his head. Gently, she laid a hand on one of his cheeks and cast the last cure spell she had available on him. It wasn't much, but every little bit would help keep him with her that much longer.

As the glow from the spell faded, Vincent opened his eyes. "Yuffie? I thought I was dreaming when I heard your voice."

"I'm really here, Vincent." She knew that she'd started crying, but she couldn't help it. The fall and the boulder had done so much damage to him. Vincent probably wasn't going to survive the afternoon, let alone the night or until help could come.

Weakly, he reached up and put his hand over her own. "I'm glad…you're all right." His words were labored. His chest felt tight with each breath, and he was pretty sure his lungs were either partially collapsed or filling with fluid. Or both.

**_You'd better get it all out while you can, valentine. I think we're dying._**

_I know. I'm trying._

"Vincent don't leave me!" Yuffie's voice was bordering on panicked. But Vincent's eyes were glassy and out of focus.

"Sorry…talking to…Chaos. He's…worried about…our condition…" He tried to chuckle, but it turned into a bloody cough.

For the young ninja, that clenched it. Without proper supplies and help, neither of which they had, Vincent was dying. Not in a few hours, or a few days. Right now. She began to cry harder.

"Vincent, I—"sobs choked back her words.

"Shh…Even if…the world was…ending…you made these last days…the happiest of my life…"

Yuffie shook her head, trying to delay the inevitable. Trying to convince herself that if she kept him talking, he'd stay with her.

"I love you, Vincent," she choked out, needing to tell him to his face at least once.

The gunman smiled. "Love you…Yuffie…Thank you…"

He closed his eyes then, against the pain racking his body. The tightness in his chest was making it nearly impossible to talk now. And he couldn't feel his legs anymore.

All he could hear were Yuffie's sobs.

**_I am going to miss her,_** Chaos thought idly.

_So am I._ And then blackness claimed them.

Yuffie didn't know when Vincent blacked out. All she was aware of was the aching void that had opened up in her chest. All she could hear were her own choked sobs.

And all she could think about was the fact that Vincent was dying.

She didn't notice when the earthquakes started back up. The first indicator the ninja had that anything was wrong was when the Lifestream surged up through a sudden crack in the ground next to her.

Numbly, through blurry eyes, she watched as the ground around them spider webbed into lurid green cracks. When it all sank into the Lifestream, Yuffie didn't even try to run.

All she could do was hold onto Vincent's hand as the world around them went mad.


	9. waking up alone

well, i seriously considered letting the suspense go for another day, but i decided that i'd been evil enough. that and the next couple of chapters are done already anyway. so, i present to you chapter 9. Read and enjoy and review! i was so happy that this last set of reviews made this fic pass Stories in reviews. and dude, the hit counter! people like me! they really like me! blushes  
eerian

DISCLAIMER: not mine. i own the idea only for this fic. my characters haven't popped up yet. when they do, i own those too. that's it.**

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Chapter 9

Vincent was awakened by the fact that he no longer hurt. In fact, he felt better than he had in several decades.

He opened his eyes and sat up to get a good look at his surroundings, and was a bit intimidated by what he saw. He was sitting on an island made of stone. From what he could tell, it was floating in absolute nothingness; except for the island, everything was shrouded in blackness. No other features were apparent.

**"Good morning, Vincent."** The voice was naggingly familiar, and Vincent whirled around to see the speaker.

Directly behind him was a motley assortment of monsters. One looked like a miniature, bipedal behemoth. Another looked like a mad scientists construction of bolts and body parts, something straight from a horror novel. The third looked human, if a little deformed, until it rotated its head three hundred sixty degrees. The fourth--and final—was a large, winged, black…demon.

From Chaos' descriptions, he tentatively identified the first three as some of the monsters that lived inside him—specifically the Galian Beast, Death Gigas, and Hellmasker. Logically, that made the fourth,

"Chaos?"

**"Indeed."** The demon smirked, something that was a little unsettling coming from someone so obviously non-human. **"I'm touched that you recognized me, since you've never actually seen me."**

"Must be the distinctive company you keep." Vincent picked himself up from the ground. "What happened? How did all of you get…free?"

**"I don't know. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. But I would like to know, myself."** Chaos walked over to stand next to Vincent. **"The drawbacks of being unconscious, I suppose."**

"I suppose," the gunman replied. "How do you think we get out of here?"

**"Worried about your girl?"**

Actually, he hadn't been. He hadn't even thought about her until Chaos brought her up. And the, since it had been brought up, Vincent was worried about Yuffie. _We were together. Why isn't she here too? Did we die after all? Is she out there, alone and unarmed in the crater? Oh, God…_

"A bit," he replied. "But I think we need to be more concerned with getting out of this place first. We can't help her from here."

**"Good point."** Absently, Chaos reached down to scratch the head of the Galian Beast, who had wandered over next to them. **"Perhaps we should start with that trail over there."**

"What trail?" Vincent followed the demon's pointing finger to see a trail leading away from the island. "That was not there earlier."

**"No, it wasn't. But are you going to look a gift trail in the mouth?"**

"You come up with strange analogies, Chaos. But no, I'm not. Let's go."

The former Turk started down the trail, the demon not half a step behind. And following them like some huge, deformed dog, came the Galian Beast. Hellmasker and Death Gigas didn't attempt to follow. Vincent and Chaos left them behind without a second thought.

* * *

Yuffie woke to gentle hands pulling her out of something warm and wet. Her first thought was of Vincent, and she opened her eyes to look for him.

"Ah, you're awake." Her rescuer was a dark haired man with a well trimmed goatee. "I was afraid you wouldn't wake up, since we pulled you out of the Lifestream."

"I was with a man in red. Is he here?" She had to know what had happened to Vincent.

"I'm sorry, Yuffie. Vincent's not here."

"Huh?" She struggled out of the stranger's arms. "How did you know our names?"

"Sorry. I've been working here with Cloud and Tifa for so long that I forgot we hadn't met in person." He extended a hand to her. "I'm Reeve."

She shook his hand, but eyed his slacks and white t-shirt warily. "You don't look much like a Shinra exec."

"Well, there isn't much of a Shinra corporation anymore, so it works out nicely." Reeve smiled at her. "C'mon. let's get you dried off and changed and you can tell us what happened to you."

"Okay." She didn't look forward to telling everyone that Vincent was probably—almost definately—dead.

Reeve led her through a sea of people who were digging through the rubble of a city. It looked a lot like what was left of Midgar…but she couldn't be that far south, could she?

"Hey, Reeve?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we? This looks like Midgar."

"It is. What's left of it, anyway." Reeve looked over at her. "We're digging people out of the rubble. Holy and Lifestream did a number on what WEAPON left behind."

"…Holy?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" He stopped in front of a large tent and pulled the flap back. "I'm sure everyone will be glad to fill you in. After you."

She stepped inside and stopped a few feet in, so that her eyes could adjust to the dimmed light. Reeve stepped inside behind her and let the tent flap fall closed. As he did so, Yuffie found herself crushed in the enthusiastic embrace of a very strong woman.

"Yuffie, I'm so glad you're all right!"

"Um, Tifa, I really can't breathe," Yuffie choked out.

"Oh, sorry." Tifa released the embrace, but held the ninja out at arm's length. "When we realized you and Vincent weren't on the Highwind, we got so worried. I'm glad you made it out all right."

Yuffie looked down at the floor, tears in her eyes. She might be all right, but Vincent wasn't. he was gone, and he'd left nothing but memories behind.

"Yuffie, what's wrong?" Tifa asked worriedly. When the ninja didn't answer right away, the martial artist looked to Reeve.

The former executive shook his head and mouthed, "Vincent."

"Yuffie?" Tifa used one hand to tip the younger girl's face back up. "What happened?"

Yuffie gathered up what shreds of strength she had left. She was going to have to tell them eventually, anyway. Best to get it out now.

"When we were running back to the Highwind, part of the cliff gave way." She looked back down at the floor. "I fell. Vincent—and Chaos—came after me."

The ninja was sobbing now, the words becoming harder and harder to say. She just wanted to curl up in a corner somewhere and die, too.

But somehow, she managed to go on. "A boulder fell on us as we were flying. When I woke up…"

Tears were streaming down her face as Yuffie looked back up a Tifa.

"Tifa, Vincent's dead!" The ninja collapsed into Tifa's stunned embrace.

"I'll call Cloud back in," Reeve said gravely.

* * *

Yuffie sat numbly in a camp chair tucked into a corner of the tent. Tifa had set her there after her crying spell, and from what she and Reeve could tell, the ninja hadn't even blinked.

"How is she?" Cloud asked as he entered the tent.

"Not good," Tifa replied. "She hasn't moved since I put her there."

Cloud shook his head. "C'mon. Let's go outside to talk."

Tifa nodded and followed Cloud out into the fading sunlight. After she'd secured the tent flap, she asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Not really." He sighed. "What's left of the crater was flooded by Lifestream. Barret and Nanaki are still up there searching the rim, but I don't think they'll find anything else."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah." Wearily, he handed her a battered but recognizable rifle.

"Death Penalty!" She turned the gun over in her hands, examining it, as if it held the secret to Vincent's location. "Where did you find it?"

"Hanging from a tree near the center of the crater. They didn't make it far at all." Cloud shook his head. "If Vincent's still there, he's under so much Lifestream that no one would survive getting his body."

Tifa looked back toward the tent. "Poor Yuffie."

* * *

**"So, where do you think the trail leads?"**

"I don't know. Have you come up with any ideas as to where we are?"

**"None."**

Vincent sighed. "We're getting nowhere but further down a road in a foreign place. We have no food, no weapons and no real destination. We are, to quote Cid, completely fucked. Do you have any suggestions, aside from 'keep walking'?"

**"I pick you up and we fly on ahead?"** The demon answered cheekily**. "Granted, the Galian Beast won't be able to keep up, but we'll make good time."**

"If I had known I was going to get a wise-assed answer, I wouldn't have asked. Be serious for once."

**"Why? You're being serious enough for twelve people. It isn't easy trying to counter that much angst."**

"Hmph." Vincent turned away from his personal demon and started walking again. "Its not angst. You wouldn't understand."

"**Really? What makes you think that?"** When Vincent didn't answer, Chaos strode forward and grabbed Vincent's shoulder, spinning him around. **"Do you think that because I'm a demon, I can't understand higher emotions like frustration or fear or love?"**

"I think that because you _aren't me!_" Vincent wrenched his shoulder out of Chaos' grasp. "We may have shared a body for thirty years, but you aren't me. And you don't know everything that goes on inside my head."

The sharp-shooter stormed off down the trail and this time, the demon let him go. He wasn't stung by the human's outburst. Surprised, but not hurt.

He also knew that Vincent was really worrying about Yuffie. He wouldn't care what happened to himself, as long as he knew she was safe. Chaos could relate to that.

He'd felt that way about someone once, long before cities like Midgar were even daydreams in the thoughts of madmen.

With a resigned sigh, he gestured to the Galian Beast. "Come, beast. We'll never get out of this place if we don't stay together."


	10. too much to think about

well, compared to the novels that the last few chapters have been, this one is really short. but dragging it out would have been pointless.

WARNING: this chapter contains a main character attempting suicide. if this bothers you, skip the first two thirds of it. just go streight down to the little divider bar.

DISCLAIMER: i've had nine chapters of disclaimer already. if you guys don't know that i'm not taking credit for owning the characters by now, you should be shot. and i'm tired of trying to think of new ways to say it. FF7, ITS CHARACTERS OR ITS PLACES ARE NOT MINE. i think this is the last disclaimer i'll do for this fic.

eerian

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Yuffie was only marginally aware of Reeve dropping tiredly onto the cot in the command center tent. She was still on her camp stool in the corner, too wrapped up in her grief to notice anyone or anything, really.

_Why'd you have to go, Vincent? We were just getting started…_ Her hands tightened reflexively on Death Penalty.

Tifa had given her the rifle when she and Cloud had told her the results of the search at the North Crater. Tears had been coursing down the martial artist's face and Cloud had looked saddened.

Cid had come in while they were talking. He'd said nothing, just put an arm around the ninja and hugged her to his side. She'd cried into the oil-stained denim of his jacket while he held her. When she had stopped crying, he'd surprised everyone by kissing her on the forehead and saying, "You need to do that again, you call me."

Yuffie had nodded and almost smiled. "Thanks, old geezer."

"Fuck that! I ain't old!" But he didn't leave. He'd stayed, one arm wrapped around her, until Barret called him to come pick them up at the crater.

Now, she contemplated the rifle in her hands. It wouldn't be that hard to use it on herself. Awkward, but not impossible. And the pain, this awful drowning despair, would be gone.

She turned Death Penalty so that the barrel was pointing at her. Carefully, she searched for the proper angle so that she could pull the trigger and still hit herself.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Reeve asked, placing a hand over her own on the barrel of the gun.

"Why not? What's left here but pain and agony?" she looked at Reeve with sorrowful, pleading eyes. "Give me a reason to stay."

"Vincent gave his life to save you. He risked himself to be certain that you would live." He looked at her solemnly. "Suicide would make his sacrifice meaningless—and dishonor his memory."

"So? Its not like he's here to care." Yuffie knew she was just stalling—keeping Reeve talking so that she wouldn't stay lost in her own thoughts.

The fact that he'd cared enough to stop her was all she needed. To be reminded that she was still wanted, even if the man she loved was dead. The pain was still there, but she could bear it. She wouldn't carry her suicide attempt out now; or try again.

"All right, you have a point there." Reeve gave her a tired smile, feeling her grip on the rifle loosening. "Try this one on for size: We're your family. Dysfunctional and foul-mouthed as some of us are, we all love you and would be crushed if you left us too."

"I know. I just needed the reminder." She pushed Death Penalty toward him. "I think maybe you should keep this safe for awhile. Just in case, you know?"

Reeve nodded and took the weapon. "Let me know when you're ready to take it back."

"I will." She surprised him by throwing her arms around him in a hug, smashing Vincent's rifle into his chest. "Thanks, Reeve."

She smiled then, with some of her normal humor. "You big stuffed kitty-cat moogle thingy."

Reeve laughed, relieved at this small recovery of herself. "I'm tired, Yuffs. I've been digging people and bodies out of the ruins all day. I'm going to bed."

"'Kay. G'nite, Reeve."

She knew he was right. Vincent had died saving her. Even though she wasn't really worth it—just a scrawny little materia-hunter-female-ninja-thief who'd nearly gotten her entire extended family killed once.

_The least I can do is live for him._ She rose from her camp stool in the corner and went to the tent flap to look outside at the ruined city. _And if I washed this far south, maybe he did too._

**

* * *

"So, Vincent, what do you think the others are doing?"**

"What others, Chaos? There's no one here but us."

**"Death Gigas and Hellmasker. We didn't even try to bring them with us."**

Vincent stopped walking and turned to regard his demon counterpart. "I don't know, and I don't care. We're well rid of those monstrosities. Creatures like that were never meant to be."

**"There was a time when you would have said that about me."**

"I know. And then I discovered that you were really a person inside, and just as much a victim of Hojo's as I was. So was he." The gunslinger indicated the Galian Beast.

**"So were they. He just built them; the Beast and I were summoned from somewhere else."**

"And if I had the ability to send you back, I would. You know that. And if I could have dismantled or killed them back there I would have.

"No one should live the way we had to for three decades."

**"I agree wholeheartedly."**

"I'm glad to hear that," A third voice—a _female_ voice—chimed in.

Vincent turned. "Aeris?"


	11. flower girl

**Chapter 11**

The flower girl giggled. "Well, you weren't expecting to see someone _alive_ here, were you?"

"We don't even know where here is," Vincent told her.

"The Lifestream. And the five of you are the only living beings here."

**"How?" **Chaos asked her. **"I very clearly recall being knocked out of the sky and crushed."** The demon's wings twitched uncomfortably. **"Not the most pleasant experience I've ever had."**

"You're still alive, because you weren't quite dead when you fell into the Lifestream. But you needed serious healing. So much so, that the Planet decided that it was better to dissolve you old body and give you a new one. Imagine its surprise when it found not one, but five beings inside."

"But why? Why would the Planet do such a thing?" Vincent was having trouble processing the concept that he'd been killed and resurrected, basically.

"Because it knows who helped save it. _Some _reward had to be given.

"And because I asked it to. You all meant so much to me, that I couldn't bear it if one of us was suffering because you'd died."

"You mean Yuffie," the gunslinger stated.

Aeris nodded. "She's come so far, and endured so much. After everything, she deserves some happiness. And so do you."

"Aeris, I don't know how to—"

"Don't thank me yet, Vincent. You've still got to get back to her. And that's going to be a dangerous trip without your weapons or armor."

**"No it won't," **Chaos interjected. **"Not with the Beast and I here to guard him."**

"You would do that for him?"

**"Of course. We're friends. And I like him too much to just let him die, even if we weren't."**

"All right. Then there's just one thing left."

"What's that?" Vincent wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Don't worry. Its nothing dire." The flower girl smiled brightly, picking up on Vincent's tension. "There has to be some kind of decision, though. About the others."

"I don't understand."

"**Only because you don't want to, Valentine,"** Chaos told him**. "And I'm getting tired of saying that to you."**

The demon turned to look at the Ancient. **"Can they be absorbed into the Lifestream?"**

"Returned to the Planet?" Aeris nodded. "They can be. Is that what you want?"

**"It is." **Chaos' tone left no room for argument from Vincent.

_Not that I would have argued the point. I very much like the idea of them having some sort of peace finally._

"Very well. Hellmasker and Death Gigas will be returned to the Planet. And the three of you can go home." Aeris pulled Vincent into a hug. "Lucy says to tell you that she loves you, and that she's glad you found someone else who could make you happier than she did."

Vincent was a little surprised, both by the Cetra's actions, and her words. _Lucy? No one called her that but Professor Gast and I. I'm glad she approves._ For the first time, Vincent missed having Chaos' thoughts in his head; he would have liked to know what the demon thought of that.

Chaos was turning to Vincent when Aeris surprised them both by giving the demon a hug as well. "Thank you for trying to save me," she told him. "And thank you for promising to protect Yuffie."

Man and demon both wondered how much Aeris knew about them.

"Its time for you to go now," Aeris told them suddenly. "Give everyone my love when you see them."

"I will," Vincent said, as the trio was wrapped in the green light of the Lifestream.

* * *

_i know its short, but the next chapter's coming right up! i just didn't want to combine them. and thanks for your patience with my delay. i've had so many ideas on my mind lately, that i had to get all the others down before i could go back to this one. and real life kept doing that thing where it got in the way of my writing._

_eerian_


	12. survival

_huh. this one's short too. must be a trend. that's okay. it'll change next chapter._

_**DISCLAIMER: (forgot this last chapter, so it applies for both. and any others i've forgotten) I don't own FF7, its characters or its settings. i'm not trying to make money off them. this is all in fun.**_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 12**

Vincent broke the surface of the Lifestream like a diver coming back up for air. Chaos came up next to him, and the Galian Beast a few feet away.

They were next to the shore, and Vincent dug his claw into the ground to use as an anchor to pull them all out. When they were safely ashore, the Galian Beast shook vigorously, spraying droplets of Lifestream everywhere. It was then that Vincent realized he was wet—and cold. Dangerously cold.

"Chaos, we need to find shelter and build a fire, or I'm going to freeze to death," he told the demon.

"**A problem I share, Vincent, but where do you suggest we go? There is no real shelter between here and the City of the Ancients. If it's still standing." **

"The crater had plenty of caves," Vincent said. "We could take shelter in one of those."

"**You would be right,"** Chaos agreed, **"Except that I'm pretty sure this is the North Crater."** He pointed to the lake of Lifestream they were on the bank of.

"Then we have to get moving. We'll climb the mountain if we have to. The activity will help keep us warm."

"**-Er,"** the demon added. **"We may not make it, Vincent." **

"No," The gunslinger met Chaos' eyes with a determined gaze. "But we have to try."

* * *

The surviving members of AVALANCHE had put together a fairly large, organized rescue force in the last two days, Yuffie noticed. The survivors of Midgar were more than willing to help find others, as long as someone was there to tell them what to do. And they were more than happy to take orders from AVALANCHE, when the seven of them stepped up to take over. They'd split their workers into teams, and each of the heroes had taken one group. Tifa had set up a medical center with two surviving doctors; everyone else was working to find survivors in the piles of rubble and broken buildings.

Yuffie shrieked as the board she was prying at came free and she fell on her butt. Rather ungracefully. And then the board had to smack her on the head.

"Ow! Stupid board," she muttered.

"You okay, Miss Yuffie?" One of the other workers asked.

"Yeah. I'm good. Just wasn't expecting that." She stood up and peered into the hole her tugging had exposed.

And straight into a pair of mako green eyes.

"AHHHHH!" She jumped nearly out of her skin at the sight, then blushed in embarrassment.

She peered into the hole again, but the eyes were gone.

"Hello?" she called.

"Get some water in here," was the reply she got, in a gravelly voice that was naggingly familiar.

Quickly, Yuffie thrust her canteen through the hole. "How many of you are there?" She asked, waving the nearest rescue workers over.

"Three," the voice replied. "And we ain't doing so well in here."

"We're working on it right now," Yuffie replied. She pointed at one of the workers. "You go find Reeve. Tell him we've got three survivors and we need one of his engineers to dig them out." She pointed at another worker. "You go find Cloud Strife and Barret Wallace. They should be at the command tent. Tell them I need them. Move!"

The two workers sprinted off, intent on their duties. Everyone else got to work looking for the best angle of approach to dig the survivors out.

"You're pretty good at dishin' out orders, Kisaragi," the voice from the hole said. He sounded less gravelly now, but still a little hoarse.

And Yuffie realized why it sounded so familiar now. "Reno?"

"Got it in one. You shoulda seen your face." The Turk chuckled dryly. "Classic."

"I bet. I thought the Turks were leaving Midgar."

"We got as far as here when shit started collapsing on us. 'Lena got all altruistic and tried to save some kid. I got caught trying to save her. Dunno what happened to Rude." Reno sounded more than a bit regretful. "'Lena's busted up pretty bad."

"Don't worry. We'll get you out," Yuffie told him emphatically.

"I know. That's what you heroes do."


	13. dark men

_the first half of this chapter is lovingly dedicated to Banana peel, who seemed incredibly distressed by the fact that Rude was not with the other turks in the midgar ruins. here he is, hon, but you might not like what i did._

_eerian_**

* * *

**

Chapter 13

Somehow, Reno dragged a promise to search for Rude out of Yuffie. And, despite the doctors' protests that he was severely dehydrated, Reno was out in the rubble helping her look. Elena was still unconscious in the medical tents, and the doctors weren't holding out much hope for her recovery.

Yuffie had decided that it was the better part of valor not to tell Reno this as they worked. He had enough on his mind, worrying about his missing friend.

"So, I thought the Turks were bad guys," Yuffie said, hoping to drag him into any sort of conversation. And trying to figure out why he was being so nice to AVALANCHE.

"We're not bad guys. Help me lift this." She helped him pull up a heavy board. "We just did what we were told. That was the job, you know? They trained us to kill, and then that's what they told us to do. Quitting was never an option. You quit, and they killed you."

The Turk sighed. "After a while, you told yourself that you stayed because the paycheck was too good to leave."

"Geeze, I never looked at it that way. I guess Shinra screwed all of you guys too, huh?"

Reno didn't reply. He just kept sorting through the rubble.

Yuffie kept searching too, though secretly, she didn't think that they would find the last Turk. Reno, Elena and the boy they'd saved were pretty near death when they were rescued, and it had been nearly a full day later before they started searching in earnest for Rude. If they found him, she was pretty sure he would be just another body.

But she wouldn't tell Reno that either.

Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her ankle. She screamed and looked down.

"Yuffie, what?" Reno asked, turning to look at her. He followed her gazed down.

To a dark brown hand sticking out from the rubble, clinging to her ankle.

"Hey guys!" she called to the closest rescue team. "We need some help here!"

Reno wasn't willing to wait for help to arrive. He began digging at the rubble around the hand. "Yuffie, help me!"

She bent down to help him, only mildly surprised when the hand released her ankle so she could work. Whoever was under there must be able to hear them. The rescue team joined them quickly, and it was the work of mere moments to have the majority of their rescuee's body uncovered.

Reno began crying unashamedly when he saw that they really had found Rude. His sunglasses were gone, and his suit was trashed, but he was alive. Yuffie felt sick when she saw why he hadn't been able to dig himself out, despite being so close to the surface of the debris.

One of his legs was missing below the knee. And a piece of metal pipe was sticking out of his stomach. Frankly, she was stunned that he was still alive. He had to have had a cure materia somewhere to have survived that kind of damage.

"Hold on man," one of the workers said. "We've got the doc comin' with a stretcher. Just a little longer, then you'll be just fine."

She had to admire his kindness. A month ago, these workers would rather have spat on a Turk than looked at them.

Rude opened brown eyes and looked at them. "Reno?" he asked weakly. "You crying?"

Reno gave him a half-smile. "You shouldn't talk man. You got this big-ass pipe through your stomach, man."

"Where's…Elena?"

"With Lockheart. She'll be good as new in no time. You too."

Yuffie hoped that Reno was telling his friend the truth.

* * *

Later that night, Yuffie was in the medical tent waiting for news on the Turks when the screaming started. She ran toward the exit to help, reflexively reaching for Conformer.

When her hand hit empty air where it should have been, she remembered that it was in the North Crater and she was now weaponless.

She gritted her teeth and stepped outside anyway. There would be something she could to help, even if it was just throwing rocks to distract whatever—or whoever—was attacking the camp.

Nothing could have prepared her for seeing a familiar winged black demon crashing to the ground as Reeve put an incredibly accurate shot into its head.

"_No_!" she screamed, drawing the attention of every person near enough to hear her.

She ran toward the demon, ignoring Reeve's cry of, "Yuffie, that's not Chaos!"

But it was; she'd known it when she saw him fall.

_Why isn't he turning back into Vincent?_ The girl knelt down next to the demon and looked him over. "Somebody get me a phoenix down."

"Yuffie," Reeve repeated, "Its not Chaos. Look, its not turning back into Vincent. This isn't him."

"It is him. Get me a phoenix down."

Reeve put a hand on her shoulder and pulled gently. "C'mon Yuffie. Let it be."

"Get me the goddamn phoenix down, Reeve!" she shouted.

Reeve shook his head, but went to do as the ninja demanded.

Carefully, Yuffie checked the demon's head, searching for entry and exit wounds. The bullet had entered just above his left eye, but didn't seem to have left. The phoenix down would take care of it, but she was more worried about brain damage than anything else. She'd seen some of that after the war.

She yelped when Chaos opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Yuffie…Vincent's in…mountain…Galian Beast…" She thought she read frustration in his face as he passed out again.

_He's alive!_ Yuffie felt her heart soar. _Somehow, Vincent's alive!_

Something tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to see Cid holding a phoenix down out to her.

"Reeve says you're outta your goddamn mind," the pilot said. "His words, not mine."

"How quickly can you have the Highwind ready to fly?" She took the phoenix down from Cid and threw it on the demon.

"An hour or so," he told her, watching carefully as the demon stirred. "Why?"

"Chaos says Vincent's alive. I'm going to go find him."


	14. chaos

_for ezzy, who just had to know if Chaos was all right... :-)_**

* * *

Chapter 14**

The popping of a fireplace log roused Vincent from the nightmare he'd been having since he passed out. He bolted upright in his bed with a cry, startling a matching one out of a girl who was standing in the doorway of the room he was in.

It took him several seconds to realize that he was no longer in the mountain cave Chaos had left them in. he was, in fact, in a well lit cabin room, near a roaring fireplace. His lower body was covered by a very basic homemade quilt. The bed he was resting in wasn't at all uncomfortable.

As the girl at the door took her hand away from her chest, Vincent realized that he was completely naked.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked.

"We had to cut them off of you to get you out of them I'll bring you some others now that you're awake. She turned to go.

"Wait." Before anything else, Vincent wanted some answers.

"Yes?" The girl turned back.

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

"My brother and I found you nearly frozen to death in a cave. There was a fierce beast with there with you, and it followed us when we brought you here. This is my father's house." The girl looked at him with a small amount of fear in here eyes. "The beast won't harm us, will he?"

"I do not think so, as long as I come out of the house again. You left him outside, I presume?"

"Yes. My brother didn't think it was safe to bring it inside." She smiled at Vincent and turned away from him. "I'll get your clothes now."

* * *

"**I do _not_ understand why we are sitting around here on our asses interrogating me, when I've told you where Vincent is and that he may be dying!"** There was no disguising the anger in Chaos' voice as he railed at Cloud.

"We're interrogating you because I don't believe you story," Cloud told the demon. "How can I, when we all know Vincent can't be separated from you—if you are who you claim to be."

"**I've told you already, Strife! The Planet separated us as a reward for defeating Sephiroth!"**

"Why would the Planet reward you?" Cloud asked.

"**I helped you people didn't I? I earned a reward as much as any of you did."** The demon glared at Cloud.

"You only helped us because Vincent was there."

"**I never had to help you," **Chaos told him. **"I could have done nothing, if I chose to.**

"**Vincent _never_ commanded me for anything."**

"Whoa, okay, guys," Yuffie said, stepping between Cloud and Chaos' makeshift prison. "I think its time for us to stop this."

"We need answers, Yuffie."

"He gave us answers, Cloud! Why can't you accept them."

"It's a demon, Yuffie."

"You're right, Cloud. He's a demon." She looked meaningfully at eh makeshift cage Chaos was in. "He's a really strong demon. Do you really thing that this piece of crap that Cid spot welded together in ten minutes would hold him if he wanted out? Do you really think you could take him if you pissed him off?"

"Reeve did."

"Reeve got in a single lucky shot when Chaos wasn't fighting back.

"Vincent is alive, Cloud. Chaos knows where he is. I am not going to stand here and argue it with you, just because it sounds too good to be true!" She looked at Cloud with eyes of cold steel.

Cloud glared back at her for a long moment before replying. "Fine. Believe what you want. But if you go out there, don't expect our help." The swordsman turned and walked away.

She followed his path with her eyes, and realized that Cid had watched the entire confrontation from beside a stack of supply crates.

He regarded her as he lit a cigarette and took a long drag off it. Then he spoke.

"You dead set on this, kid? You're really gonna take the demon's word and go lookin' for Vince?"

Yuffie nodded once.

"Then you better spring him from that box. We'll need the fucker's help to find your boy." The pilot took another drag on his cigarette, acting if he'd done nothing more than suggest a walk in the park.

Yuffie couldn't help the smile that blossomed on her face. "Thanks, Cid."

Cid shrugged. "If I didn't help you, you'd just go off on your own. I'd feel like a damn fool asshole if you did that and got yourself killed."

"**We should go before Cloud comes back,"** Chaos interrupted. He slammed both his hands into the front wall of his "cage," knocking it down. **"I'm ready to go whenever you are."**

"You guys meet me at the Highwind. I've got to stop and pick something up first."

"**What is it?"** Chaos asked, as Yuffie sprinted off.

"Probably barf bags," Cid replied.


	15. confrontations

_i know that some of you have been most eagerly awating me to get another chapter of sunrise put up. and i feel bad that's its gotten neglected in light of my recent hellsing obsession. but, here it is. and the next one is almost finished and should be up soon! hope you enjoy this one, cause i'm not pleased with the overall turn out. it just feels off to me. dunno._

_eerian_**

* * *

**

Chapter 15

The clothes did not fit right. They were, in fact, made for someone several inches shorter than himself.

Vincent sighed as he pulled the homespun sweater over his head. The plain brown wool would keep him warm enough, but he wished for his own shirt and pants. There was no telling when he'd get clothes his size again, though.

_I might as well wish for Yuffie._ He gave a forlorn sigh. _Hopefully, these people can help me get supplies and be on my way._

A soft knock sounded on the door, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"May I come in?" It was the girl.

"You may."

The girl came into the room, hands gripped tightly in front of her, a worried expression on her face.

"What is it?" Vincent asked.

"Your beast. It won't let my brother back inside. Perhaps you should…" She trailed off, obviously uncertain of what to say.

"I'll call him off. I imagine he just wants to know that I'm all right."

"Please, this way." The girl walked away quickly.

Vincent followed her to the door of the cabin. The girl stood nervously to the side as he opened the door.

Almost the instant he stepped off the porch, he was confronted with seven feet of snuffling Galian Beast. The creature reminded him more and more of a loyal dog as time passed.

Tentatively, as he'd never _petted_ the Galian Beast before, he reached out with his good hand and rubbed him between the horns as he'd seen Chaos do. The beast calmed almost instantly, and sat down on the cold ground.

"Beast, we mustn't be rude to our hosts. They've taken good care of me. Be nice to them."

The Galian Beast belied his dog-like tendencies by snorting and nodding like he understood exactly what Vincent had said.

Vincent stepped back from the Beast. "Now, I'm going back inside before I freeze again. Go find yourself something to eat."

The Galian Beast did not have to be told twice. He bounded off immediately into the trees surrounding the house and barn.

Vincent turned to his second rescuer. "He shouldn't bother you now."

"I hope not," the young man said. "I don't think I could handle that again."

With that, his rescuer walked to the porch and inside. Vincent followed.

_Something isn't right here._

Quickly, he found out what it was.

They'd been inside for all of thirty seconds when the young man demanded, "How long until you leave?"

"What?" Vincent hadn't been expecting open hostility.

"That thing outside is dangerous. It frightens the livestock and nearly killed me." He leveled an angry gaze at Vincent. "I want it gone, and I want you gone. We've had nothing but trouble since Jaya made me pull you out of that cave."

"Vhan, please," The girl, Jaya presumably, said. "He has nothing. He needs us."

"Like hell! We don't even know who he is!"

"My name is Vincent Valentine," the gunslinger said. "Of AVALANCHE."

"The terrorist group?" Vhan looked plainly suspicious.

"They have not been terrorists since long before I joined them." Vincent had a pretty good idea of where this was goin.

"If you're one of them, you can take care of yourself. Get out." Both Vincent and Jaya could see in his stance that further argument was pointless. The young man had made up his mind.

"Very well." Vincent turned and walked back into the cold. If he died—again—from exposure, his death would be on the boy's hands when the Planet looked at his deeds.

As he moved away from the house, he heard the girl shout, "How could you!"

He chose to ignore the rest of the argument as he moved out of hearing range.

He was moving into the tree line when he heard the girl shout, "Mister Valentine! Wait!"

At her shout, Vincent stopped, waiting in the cold air.

"I'm sorry about Vhan. He's been like that since Papa died." She held a coat and a backpack out to him. "Take these. I told my brother that I was helping you no matter what he said."

"I have no way to repay you for these things." He didn't want to refuse her generosity, but neither did he want to deprive her of supplies that she would need out here.

"I've seen your beast at night, killing the monsters that tried to attack the farm. That was payment enough." Her face was determined, and Vincent couldn't find it in him to refuse again.

"Thank you," he said, taking her gifts. "The planet will not forget your kindness."

Jaya seemed taken a bit aback by his statement, but smiled anyway. "Good luck."

"Thank you."

Without another word, the girl turned and walked back to her house.

Vincent entered the tree line, then stopped to put the coat on. It was leather, line with wool and doubtlessly made by the family. It had a hood, which he quickly pulled up.

When he put his good hand in the pocket to warm his fingers, he felt a familiarly shaped piece of metal. Surprised, he pulled it out, and wondered if she had meant to leave him the pistol.

_Its small, but what it lacks in power, I can make up for in precision._

He found one full clip of ammunition in the gun and three more in the coat's other pocket. He'd have to ration the ammo until he got back to civilization, but with the Galian Beast around, that might not be much of a problem.


	16. hard truths

**Chapter 16**

Yuffie was surprised at how little the pilot had to slow the Highwind down to follow Chaos to the North Crater. Or, it was more accurate to say, she was surprised at how fast the demon could fly, since he couldn't stay on the airship.

They'd discovered, fairly quickly, that Chaos got airsick too. Cid had told the demon that it probably had something to do with not moving under his own power "or some shit" and thrown him off the ship.

Chaos was indignant, and Yuffie felt bad for him, but Cid refused to have two violently ill people on his ship at the same time.

"Its bad enough havin' to clean up after her skinny ass," the pilot had said, pointing to Yuffie. "I ain't cleanin' up after you too. Not when you can fly."

So, what should have been a twelve hour trip—with the condition the Highwind was in—took a day and a half. By the end of the trip, Yuffie was beginning to think that she was getting over this airsickness thing.

They decided to land on the edge of the crater, where Chaos thought they'd come up. Yuffie disappeared into her cabin while Cid landed, and came back carrying Death Penalty along with her supplies bag.

"Cloud gave you Vince's gun, huh?" Cid asked.

"Yeah."

"You know how to use it?"

"Vincent showed me on watch."

"She still works all right?"

"Yep. And Reeve gave me a couple of Materia too."

"Guess we're as ready as we'll ever be, then. Let's get the fuck outta here and find Vincent." The pilot shouldered his own supply bag and took Venus Gospel from its resting place near the pilot's console.

The two of them disembarked and Chaos joined them on the ground. Just as Cid's feet touched the ground, his PHS rang.

He glanced at the caller ID screen before answering. "What?"

"_Where the hell are you?"_ At Cloud's shout, Cid moved the phone away from his ear with a wince.

Without asking, Yuffie plucked the phone from the pilot's hand and held it to her own ear. "He's being a real friend and helping me find Vincent. Unlike some people. We'll be back soon."

Without waiting for a response from Cloud, she hung up and gave the PHS back to Cid.

"He'll just call again," he told her. "Thinks he's gotta be your goddamn keeper since you're so depressed about Vincent."

"I guess Reeve told you guys about that, huh?" Yuffie looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"Yeah." The pilot lit yet another cigarette. "He also asked us not to say anything to you about it. Said he'd worked it out with you."

The ninja nodded, unable to meet the pilot's eyes. She was more than a little ashamed that Cid knew she'd tried suicide, but having Chaos know as well—which he would in a few seconds—would be much, much worse.

"**What happened?"** Chaos asked.

Yuffie glanced over to Cid, who was looking back at her. "Its not my place to say," he told the demon.

With that, he took a drag from his cigarette and started down the Cliffside.

"**Yuffie?"** the demon turned his gaze to the ninja. **"What happened?"**

She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

Suddenly, it became clear to Chaos just what had happened to Yuffie. **"You tried to kill yourself."**

Still looking at the ground, the girl nodded. The feel of Chaos' claws wrapping around her shoulders shocked her into looking up at him. **_"Why?"_**

"I just felt so alone. It was so much worse than when my mom died." Tears began running down Yuffie's cheeks. "I wanted to be with him again."

Chaos didn't know what to say to that. He pulled the girl close and held her, letting Yuffie cry herself out.

"**You'll never be alone again, Yuffie,"** he told her, when she reached up to wipe her tears away.

"Thanks," she said. "That means a lot. We'd better go catch up with Cid though."

"**Go. I'll be there in a minute."**

"Uh, okay. But be quick."

Chaos was relieved that she didn't ask any questions. He wasn't sure he could answer them at that moment. His thoughts were suddenly jumbled. His promise that Yuffie would never be alone again had wrung something unexpected from the depths of his being.

And, as she'd pulled away from him, Chaos realized that Vincent was not the only one to have fallen in love with the young ninja.

_**Please, Vincent, don't hate me for this…**_

* * *

_okay, i'm sure i probably lost some of you here. but this whole vincent/yuffie/chaos love triangle has been in store since i decided to make this a multi-chapter fic. i guess that's all i had to say. let me know what you think._

_eerian_


	17. vacancy

_okay, its incredibly short, i know. but i promised sorceress fujin that i'd have another chapter out in exchange for another chapter of her story and so i started typing at one in the morning. frankly, just now, i'm too tired to type more. so, i decided to post what i had typed upand get the rest up in the morning. i promise more is done, i just can't stay awake much longer._

_more fun will be had after i get up at ten-ish._

_eerian_**

* * *

Chapter 17**

Yuffie wished that she could say that she had never been as emotionally drained as she suddenly was when Chaos led them into the cave where he'd left Vincent and the Galian Beast. But she had been, just barely.

"Where are they?" she asked after a long moment of staring into the cave.

Vincent's tattered cloak was present, frozen to the cold ground, but there were no other signs that the cave had been occupied for the last three days. She felt her half-healed heart breaking open again and she had to force back tears in the freezing air.

"**I don't know,"** Chaos finally answered. "I didn't think they would leave."

"They're dead, aren't they?" Yuffie looked at the cave with sorrowful eyes.

**"Yuffie, I don't think—"**

"Just cause he ain't here," Cid broke in sternly, "Don't make him dead. This ain't the warmest place, and it ain't like there's a hell of a lot of food around here. Don't go jumping to conclusions that you got no information to back up."

Yuffie nodded, unable to find the energy to argue with the pilot._ Besides, its better to believe that nothing' wrong. A frozen cloak doesn't mean anything. Right?_

_Except that Vincent's out in the freezing cold with no protection._

Chaos, his thoughts mirroring the girl's, placed a clawed hand on Yuffie's shoulder**. "The Galian Beast is too smart to let him leave whatever shelter they had without good reason."**

The words had a hollow sound even to his own ears. He didn't entirely believe that Vincent and the Galian Beast hadn't died while he was gone; it had been days, after all. The demon knew that he was just giving them both empty comfort.

"We should get goin', kid," Cid said. "Before we freeze _our_ asses off."

"Yeah." The ninja agreed reluctantly, turning away from the cloak.

"We'll get back on the ship," the pilot continued as they left the cave. "We'll move her down the mountain a bit, and start lookin' again after we get some sleep."

Yuffie just nodded.

"**There isn't a body,"** Chaos reminded them. **"He's still out there."**

_**He has to be, for your sake.**_


	18. city of the ancients

_right then. this was supposed to go up last night, but tiredness intervened. so, here it is. enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 18**

When he stumbled into the City of the Ancients, Vincent couldn't believe that he and the Galian Beast had managed to come so far down the mountain. It was true that he had been traveling for untold hours, only stopping when he had to eat or when he couldn't make his feet move another step further, but he hadn't realized that they had managed to come so far.

He was grateful that he had, however. The ammunition for his sidearm was long gone, and he and the Beast were both weary from melee combat with the monsters that had attacked them. The collapsed buildings would provide them with some shelter, and the dead trees would provide him with wood to make a fire to keep them warm. He might also be able to get a full night's sleep, since the ruined city seemed to have some sort of repelling effect on the monsters surrounding it.

Wearily, Vincent stumbled into the nearest building—the ruins of someone's home—and slumped to the floor, his exhaustion making itself firmly known. The Galian Beast followed him inside, but sat near the doorway so that he was looking outside. He reminded the ex-Turk of the guards that watched over Wutai's mythical gods, and Vincent found himself wondering where the creature had come from. That, inevitably, led him to thoughts of Chaos.

_What happened to him? He was just supposed to have gone scouting and brought back food, if he could find any. Surely he didn't just desert us. _

_But he _is_ a demon. It's not impossible. And it's been days. I'll have to assume that something went wrong and focus on getting out of here. I can come back to look for him later, if I must._

_I pray he's not dead._ The intensity of that though surprised him; he hadn't prayed since before he'd become a Turk. He chose not to dwell on it.

Wearily, he began surveying the contents of the room—forcibly turning his thoughts away from Chaos and focusing on his own survival and looking for possible supplies. They had, after all, found an odd assortment of usable items and gear in the ruins when they'd come through before. Since they hadn't explored every building in the city, it stood to reason that he might find something useful, even if it was only a potion or two.

The room contained an ancient rocking chair near an end table, a low coffee table near what might have once been a couch, and a short stack of crates in one corner.

"Looks like someone was moving out," he said, more to hear a voice than through any real need to voice the opinion. Things were far too quiet with only the Galian Beast for company. He missed Yuffie and Chaos' incessant chatter.

Vincent levered himself off the floor with an aching protest from his weary body. It was warmer now that they weren't on the summit of the mountain anymore, but it was still too cold to sit too long without moving, or allow himself to fall asleep. He walked across the room and examined the crates for a moment. Like the city, they were in a process of slow decay, but they were largely intact.

He took the lid off the top crate cautiously, lest the whole pile of crates crumble to dust at his feet. Inside, he found cloth, too far decayed to be identified as anything, let alone something useful. Setting that aside, he looked inside the second crate. It contained books, which he did not touch for fear of damaging them.

_Perhaps Nanaki will know of some way of restoring those and using them at Cosmo Canyon. He would like that, I think._

Taking more care with the second crate than he had with the first, he set that one aside as well. The third—and final—crate in the stack contained the kind of trinkets that a girl might collect through her youth and adolescence. Tucked inside what appeared to be a jewelry box, Vincent found four green materia. Briefly, he wondered why an Ancient would have processed materia, but he was glad that she had.

He examined each of them in turn, not daring to hope for too much. The first was Blizzard, the second Thunder and the third Heal. The fourth materia made him want to weep with joy.

It was Fire.

Quickly, he moved the table from the center of the room and moved the crate of clothes and the crate of trinkets into its place. Then, taking the Fire materia in hand, he muttered a brief request for forgiveness and lit the crates on fire. He didn't think that the girl would mind that he had just used her belongings as a source of warmth, but he would rather be sure than attacked by vengeful spirits.

He watched over the fire for a few minutes, warming himself, until he was sure it wasn't going to jump from the crates to the books or the chair and tables. Then he turned to the Galian Beast.

"Come, Beast. Let's see if we can find something to scavenge for food." He was still exhausted, but being warm was giving him the extra energy he needed to go search out food and supplies.

The Galian Beast didn't seem too happy to be moving away from the fire, but he followed Vincent into the ruins.

They found a few potions in the ruins, but noting else of any real value. The gunslinger broke down a few branches from a dying tree on their way back to their shelter and resigned himself to a hungry night.

_But better hungry than freezing,_ he told himself.

When they returned to the shelter, Vincent built the fire back up from the smoldering ashes it had become. Then, using his backpack as a pillow, he laid down and went to sleep. Sighing heavily, the Galian Beast laid down near Vincent, facing the door, and went to sleep as well.

Neither of them heard the whine of the airship engines over head a few minutes later.


	19. night

_not much to say this time around. i'm thinking things will be all wrapped up by chapter 25 or so, now. but it could go as long as thirty. we'll see. enjoy!_**

* * *

**

**Chapter 19**

She couldn't sleep after dinner. Cid had used the ship's rations and made something that tasted pretty decent, while Chaos had complained bitterly about the lack of fresh meat. Then they'd all gone off to bead, but Yuffie had spent nearly an hour staring at the ceiling before giving in to the fact that her mind wouldn't calm enough to sleep.

Yuffie paced around in her room for a while longer before grabbing her coat and heading out to the deck. The night was well below freezing, and the full moon didn't even create the illusion of warmth. She sighed when she thought of Vincent being out in this cold.

"**You should be in bed."** The ninja nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Chaos' voice coming from the darkness.

She looked up to see him crouched, gargoyle-like, on the roof of the deck access way. "So should you," she replied.

"**Couldn't sleep."** The demon jumped from the roof to the deck with a rustling of wings.

"Me either." Yuffie tucked her hands inside her pockets and stared off into the darkness. "Do you really think he's still alive?"

"**I don't know. I want to say yes, but…"**

"I know. I want to believe that he is, but I can't do it." Tears welled up in her eyes, and Yuffie could feel the lump forming her throat that signaled an oncoming crying fit. "It was so easy to believe, when we were in Midgar. But it's been how many days now?"

"**Four." **Chaos could feel the ninja's pain as if it were his own. He moved over to her and put an arm around her.

She responded by pulling herself close against his side and putting an arm around him as well. "What do I do if he is gone?"

"**You live," **he replied.** "You love your friends and are loved in return, and you _live_."**

"You make it sound so easy."

"**Its not. It will be the hardest thing you'll ever do, for a long time."**

"But you'll be there, right?"

**_What does she mean by that?_** The demon was silent for a long moment before replying, **"Always."**

"I'm gonna hold you to that." She gave the demon a squeeze.

He chuckled and hugged her back. **"I expected no less."** His tone turned more serious. **"I meant it when I said that you wouldn't be alone again."**

"I know you did." The ninja fell silent, basking in the closeness—the not aloneness—of Chaos.

They stood on the deck like that for a long time, staring off into the night. Chaos' time sense told him it was well past midnight when he finally said, **"You need to get some sleep. Highwind will want to be off at dawn."**

"You're right. And you should go inside before you freeze."

"**So I should." **The demon smiled, a sight that would have scared her witless a few months ago. **"Thank you for sharing the night with me. You were lovely company."**

Yuffie felt herself blushing slightly at Chaos' tone. "Uh…You're welcome."

He turned her toward the door and shoved her gently toward it. **"Goodnight, Yuffie."**

As she opened the door, Yuffie wondered, _Is it just me, or is Chaos acting weirder than usual?_

"Goodnight, Chaos. Come in soon."

"**I will."** He watched her enter the stairwell, then turned back to the darkness.

_**I don't think I can do this. After we find Vincent—if we find Vincent—I have to leave. It's the only way they can be happy together.**_

The demon ignored the part of his mind that demanded, **_But what about _your_ happiness?_**


	20. morning

_short, i know, but the next chapter will be longer. and i'm working on it today; i had one of those divine inspirational moments earlier today. sorry its taken me so long to update; i've been focusing on my contest piece for the sephyxcloud club over on deviantart. i have only the epilogue left of that one, then its ready to go. wish me luck and go check out my deviantart account if you feel the need. the user ID is the same as here._**

* * *

**

**Chapter 20**

The Galian Beast woke Vincent just after dawn by carefully poking his side with his horns. All that kept the Beast from getting shot was the fact that he handgun had no ammunition anymore.

For his part, the Galian Beast looked surprised to be staring down the barrel of the gun as Vincent's brain caught up with his reflexes. "Don't _do_ that, Beast."

Vincent lowered the gun and reholstered it, while the Beast snuffled in apology. Vincent patted his companion's head consolingly. "Its all right, Beast. Did you find any breakfast?" The gunslinger wasn't expecting a positive answer—or at least not anything he could have eaten.

Therefore, he was pleasantly surprised when the Galian Beast dropped the carcass of a large rabbit in his lap. Vincent couldn't help but think that the creature looked incredibly pleased with himself.

"Nice work," he said. "Have you eaten?"

The Beast nodded and looked at Vincent expectantly. Vincent laughed at his expression. "I'm going to eat the rabbit, Beast. I just have to clean it and cook it first."

The Galian Beast seemed satisfied with this answer, as he turned away from Vincent and took up his guard position by the door.

For once, the gunslinger found himself being grateful for the sharpness of his clawed hand as he used it to skin the rabbit. He wondered, though, why the Planet had left him with it when he was reconstructed. _Perhaps the Planet simply assumed I was supposed to be this way. I doubt that it keeps track of the exact lives of all its inhabitants, after all._

Inwardly, Vincent shrugged off his thoughts before they could turn down the dark, brooding path he'd felt them taking; the claw was a reminder that even though his body was his own now, he still didn't feel entirely human. There was…_something_ still inside him, something dark that he feared to see brought forth.

And yet, like the demons, he knew that this last secret would also be pulled into the light at the least convenient moment.

He thought about Yuffie instead. About her warm smile and bright eyes. How mature she really was, even if she still often acted like a child. How she could make even the most horrible ordeal bearable just by being there.

About how much he loved her.

The rabbit was less done than he would have liked normally when he pulled it out of the fire to eat, but he was seized by a desperate urge to move on as soon as possible. He was still worried about Chaos, but he suddenly, desperately needed to see Yuffie again.


	21. demon

**Chapter 21**

Despite her coat, the climbing, and all the monsters they'd been fighting, Yuffie was freezing. Her fingers were stiff from the cold, her teeth were chattering and she was pretty sure her nose was completely frozen. She didn't know how the pilot and the demon were enduring the cold so well, but neither Cid nor Chaos had so much as twitched a muscle in the last half hour, that she could tell.

"Guys, can we stop for a little while and make a fire?" She asked. "I'm _freezing!_"

"Quit your bitchin'," Cid replied. "That farm we saw from the Highwind can't be more than fifteen more minutes away."

"You said that an hour ago," Yuffie replied. She stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not moving until someone makes a fire."

Cid gave her an incredulous look and Chaos began laughing.

"What's so funny?" the ninja demanded.

"**You are,"** Chaos said between chuckles. **"You demand that we make a fire to get warm, but you ultimatum requires that you stay here and freeze if we decline."**

"Gods! Sometimes I hate your stupid demon logic!" She stomped forward again in a huff.

"Sounded like good sound logic to me," Cid muttered conspiratorially to the demon. "She's just pissed that you figured her out."

"**Indeed. She is much like my beloved Ilrya that way."**

Cid glanced over at the demon as they followed the ninja. "Your girl, huh? What happened to her?"

"**She died during a war with a human kingdom near my domain." **The demon felt the urge to howl welling up inside him at the memory, and at the thought that the same thing could easily happen to Yuffie. And he might be as helpless to stop it now as he was then. **"She was assassinated while I was on the front lines."**

"Damn, I'm sorry," Cid said. "Hope I didn't hurt you by askin'."

"**My beloved's memory is bittersweet. The pain is always there, but I remember the love as well. I appreciate your concern, but you did not hurt me, Highwind."** Chaos was actually more surprised that Cid had even been moved to ask, then apologize. It had been his experience that most humans assumed that demons had no emotions. He decided to say as much.

"**You surprise me, Cid. Most humans assume that my kind have no feelings, and act as though nothing they do could ever hurt us. It is an extraordinary person who can see past such pre-conceived notions."**

"Well," Cid replied. "To be fair, you are the first demon I've ever met. And I didn't trust you at first. But you were always polite as hell to Aeris and Tifa. And the way to talk about Vincent, he'd have to be your best friend or your brother. And I've seen the way you look at the kid. If that ain't feelings, I don't have any fucking idea what is."

Chaos was surprised at the pilot's intuitiveness, but he was prevented from replying by a woman's scream and Yuffie shouting, "Hurry up, you two! We have to help!"

Cid and Chaos charged after the ninja, racing into the clearing around the farmhouse they'd been looking for a few steps behind her. Yuffie had Death Penalty drawn and pointed at one of the bandits swarming the place before the men really knew what was going on.

Most of the commotion in the front yard had stopped the moment Yuffie stepped into the clearing. The six bandits present—including the two who looked like they were about to joyfully rape the woman she'd heard screaming—had frozen and stared at her, obviously not expecting to be interrupted.

"The first one of you who _breathes_ wrong gets shot," she told them. She didn't want to get into a shooting match with them if she didn't want to; if they were half as good as Vincent, she wouldn't stand a chance against them. And they were all armed with guns, in addition to knives, swords and axes.

One of them—the leader she assumed, from his cocky demeanor—smirked at her. "Lookie here, boys. The little girl thinks she's a hero!" He laughed for a moment, then his face paled and he stopped.

Yuffie assumed Chaos had arrived, but she didn't turn around to confirm.

"Let the woman go," Yuffie ordered.

The two bandits holding the woman shoved her towards them. The woman pulled her coat closed over the torn bodice of her dress and took hesitant steps toward the group. When Cid had her safely in hand, Chaos stepped up next to Yuffie and grinned.

"**Now, all of you have fifteen seconds to run."**

The bandits either didn't think the demon was serious, or they were all too afraid to run. The demon didn't really care why there were still there; he'd given them a chance to run and they'd stayed to die.

Cid and Yuffie had seen Chaos unleash his formidable magical abilities in combat before, but never on a human being. For the first time since she'd met him, Yuffie found herself being truly afraid of the demon as she watched his Satan Slam attack launch into the bandits. She clutched Death Penalty in trembling fingers as the flying skulls left only desiccated corpses in their wake.

Chaos felt his stomach lurch as Yuffie whispered Ilyra's last words to him. "You didn't have to kill them."

* * *

_see? twice as long as the last chapter! sorry about feeding chaos the angstbiscuits. its going to get worse before it gets better._


	22. anger

So, I ran the word count on this before I started typing on this chapter, just to see where I'm standing with sunrise—purely out of curiousity, you understand. It was at 18600 words! Its come so, so far from the little oneshot that it began as. Makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

This chapter took a little bit of effort to get out. I've been in Hellsing mode for the last couple of days, and sick to boot. But here it is.

**Chapter 22**

Cid couldn't tell who was more frightened when Chaos attacked. Yuffie and the farm girl both looked scared to the fainting point. He was fairly intimidated by the results of the attack as well, but he'd been expecting something similar to this.

"You didn't have to kill them," Yuffie whispered harshly. Cid would have sworn he saw the demon's skin pale when she said that.

Time to step in before somebody gets hurt. "Actually, kid, he probably did. Those weren't the kind of fuckers to play with kid gloves. You saw what they were tryin' to do."

The ninja nodded, still too stunned by what had happened to say anything else. Chaos looked slightly relieved at is words, but he didn't say anything either.

The pilot pulled out a cigarette and lit it, mulling over the situation as the farm girl wrapped her arms around herself and said, "Thank you for your help. Will you come into the house?"

"Sure," Cid replied. "It's fucking cold out here anyway."

Yuffie, recovering herself somewhat, shot him a look. "Quit your bitchin', old man."

"Who the hell you calling old, brat?" He wasn't sure if she was faking, or if she had recovered from her shock already, but he was glad she would banter with him.

It meant that Chaos hadn't traumatized her too much.

The house was pleasantly warm when they stepped inside and the trio was grateful, even if Chaos did have to keep his wings tucked in fairly close to keep from breaking anything—including himself.

The girl led them into the living room and asked them to sit down. Then she went off into another part of the house. They watched her go with slightly confused expressions, but Yuffie and Cid did as she asked and sat down.

Yuffie took the opportunity to study the house while the girl was off doing whatever. The place was very quaint, all hard wood floors and log walls. It looked like something out of the books her mother read her when she was little. She had always wanted a house like this.

I doubt Vincent would want a house like this, though. Not when he's got that whole huge mansion in Nibelheim.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, coming back into the room and sinking down into a wooden chair. "I just…I had to put on some different clothes."

"Its okay," Yuffie replied. "We understand." Or she did, anyway, after that time she and Elena spent with Don Corneo.

The girl didn't look like she believed her, but Yuffie wasn't going to begin to explain. AVALANCHE's time in Wutai was just a series of painful memories that were best left to die.

"I'm Jaya," the girl told them. "And I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I truly am, but what were you doing out there?" She shot a nervous glance to Chaos who was standing near Yuffie with his arms crossed over his chest.

"We were looking for somebody," Cid told her. "We thought maybe he came through here."

Jaya opened her mouth to reply, but it was a man's voice that said, "People don't come through here. You're the first visitors we've had in years."

The girl looked to the owner of the voice with obvious relief. "Vhan! That goodness you're home! There were bandits!"

"What? Bandits?" Cid and Yuffie watched as the man walked from, presumably, the back door to the girl and hugged her. "Are you hurt? Did they take anything?"

"No, I'm fine." Jaya hugged him back tightly, then indicated the party from AVALANCHE. "These people saved me."

Vhan looked to Cid and smiled. "Thank you. I don't know what might have happened if you hadn't been here."

Rather than point out that he hadn't done anything at all to help, Cid just nodded. "We just happened to be passin' through. Ain't like we planned on taking on bandits."

"**I am surprised there were bandits at all, with Sephiroth having been near so recently," **Chaos said finally.

Vhan's eyes narrowed noticeably at the mention of the Shinra general; Jaya looked surprised at it.

"Are you with AVALANCHE?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Cid replied. "Why?"

"Jaya…" Vhan's tone was darkly warning.

The girl stepped away from him. "I'm not going to lie to them, Vhan. Everything is not going to get better if you just ignore what is going on, and we owe these people. If they're looking for the man we rescued from the cave, then we must help them."

Yuffie jumped to her feet at the girl's words. Chaos put a hand on her shoulder before she could do anything stupid. "Have you seen Vinnie?" the ninja asked.

"A few days ago, my brother and I rescued a man named Vincent Valentine from a cave not far from here. He was with a great beast and nearly frozen to death. He was here until yesterday morning, when my brother threw him out because he was in AVALANCHE."

Yuffie's elation that Vincent was alive was drowned out by the news that Vhan had thrown him out of the house. Chaos' grip on her shoulder tightened as he turned to Vhan.

"**You threw him out? You threw out a man who had no supplies, no weapons and no way to survive in this environment? You sent him out there to die!"**

"Calm down, Chaos," Cid said, knowing that it wouldn't work.

Ignoring the pilot, the demon advanced on the young man. In a move almost too fast to follow, he had Vhan by the throat and lifted him into the air. **"I should kill you for what you did. Where did he go?"**

Jaya began sobbing as her brother struggled for air. "Please, don't! I helped your friend. I gave him some supplies when he left. Please, don't kill my brother!"

"**Where did he go?" **Chaos asked again, seeming to ignore Jaya.

"South!" Jaya replied. "Oh, God, he went south! Toward the Forgotten City."

With a snarl, the demon threw Vhan to the ground. **"If anything has happened to Vincent, I will come back and kill you."** With that, he turned and stalked out of the house.

Yuffie looked at the siblings as Jaya dropped to the floor next to her brother. "If I were you two, I'd pray that Vincent's all right, because if he isn't, I'll be here helping Chaos."


	23. sleeping forest

_w00t! a 1200 word chapter, before i added this little note. this was supposed to be up two days ago, but my computer is being a spaz lately, and he keeps shutting off randomly. i think its time to take him tothe shop._

_anyway, enjoy this latest installment. i think you'll all enjoy it._**

* * *

**

**Chapter 23**

Yuffie and Chaos were silent all the way back to the Highwind. The ninja was lost in the horrors of the now, and the demon was tormented by the specters of his past. Cid was more worried about them than he was about Vincent.

Yuffie stared up at the air ship for a long time after they reached it. Finally, she spoke.

"Cid, I need you to drop me off at the City of the Ancients, then go get the Lunar Harp from Cloud."

"Yuffie?" Chaos asked.

"He has to go through the Sleeping Forest to get to Bone Village and get off this continent, right? Someone's gotta have the harp to wake the forest so he can get out."

"That's great, kid," Cid replied. "But why the City of the Ancients? Makes more sense to me to head to Bone Village and meet him comin' out."

"Maybe," Yuffie replied, "But either way we need the harp."

"Sure. But that's not a problem." The pilot grinned. "Cloud left the thing in the storage room on the Highwind on our way back to Midgar."

"Its already here? All right!" The ninja did a victory dance. "Then let's go get Vincent!"

Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed the ladder and began climbing onboard the airship. Silently, the demon watched her go.

_**She's so happy at the thought of Vincent that she's already forgotten what happened at the farm.**_

"You gotta tell her sometime," Cid said, looking over at Chaos. "You gotta tell 'em both sometime."

"**How do you tell your best friend that you've fallen in love with his woman?"** Chaos asked him.

"I dunno. But you gotta tell 'em something before you go all fuckin' weird on 'em." The Pilot grabbed the ladder and started climbing. "Meet us in Bone Village. I can't land outside the City of the Ancients."

Chaos stepped further away from the airship as it took off. He stood alone on the mountainside for several long moments pondering Cid's words before he, too, took to the air.

**Telling them how I feel about Yuffie will change everything between us. I can't do that; I can't ruin the only good things I've got now.**

Vincent Valentine looked at the imposing wall of the Sleeping Forest with dismay. Sighing, he looked over at the Galian Beast.

"I'd forgotten about this place. I'm not sure we can get through without the Lunar Harp."

The Galian Beast walked into the trees in response, then turned back and looked at Vincent.

"I suppose you're right," the gunslinger told him. "We really don't have much else to lose."

Hitching the small backpack of first aid supplies a little higher on his back, he trudged into the forest after his companion.

The forest had been like most others when they had come through before. There hadn't been as many creatures as in most forests, but not much could survive in a forest where entering it meant being lost forever. It had, at least, felt alive then. Now, while it was sleeping, the forest might as well be a corpse. It was still as the grave and the only sound they heard was the noise of their own footsteps in the underbrush. Vincent was a little unnerved by the utter lack of life in the place.

_I wonder how Aeris managed to tolerate such a lifeless place when she passed through it._

They walked for hours, with Vincent marking a tree occasionally with his claw to keep them from going in circles. He knew they weren't lost, precisely, but from past experience Vincent also knew that the trip across the Sleeping Forest shouldn't have taken more than a single hour. Without the Lunar Harp, he and the Galian Beast had fallen victim to the magic of the woods.

Finally, Vincent slumped to the ground against a tree that looked like all the others they had passed, weary to his bones. The Galian Beast laid down next to him, and put his huge head across the gunman's lap. The Beast whimpered as Vincent reached down and scratched his head.

"Well, I suppose there are worse ways to go than being lost in the Sleeping Forest." The former Turk leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. "We'll just rest here for a little while before we move on."

As he drifted off to sleep, Vincent thought he heard the gentle chords of harp music.

" 'I've got these fuckin' spare PHSes,' he says. 'Take one and let's split up to cover more ground,' he says. 'Sure, sounds great,' I said. What the _hell_ was I thinking!" Yuffie demanded of the pair of dark dragons that were staring her down.

The dragons, for their part, had looked as surprised to see her in their new home as she had been to see them.

_Man, Sephiroth really screwed things up. There weren't any dark dragons down here before._ "Hehe…Nice dragons." Slowly the girl began backing away. "You just stay there, and I'll go look for Vincent someplace else."

The larger of the dragons snorted and stepped toward her. "Oh not good."

The dragon roared and Yuffie turned and ran. Even with Conformer, she wouldn't have been able to take on two fully grown dark dragons alone. And her skill with Death Penalty was nowhere near good enough to take even one. Her only choice was to run like hell and hope that she could find Chaos in time to help her.

She was pretty sure he could take out a dark dragon or two.

When a blast of dragon force knocked her off her feet and into a tree, she was pretty sure she was screwed. Sure, she'd gotten out of these life or death situations through the grace of her friends before, but this time they were all pretty far away. But she wouldn't go down without a fight.

She staggered to her feet, raised Death Penalty and fired.

Vincent and the Galian Beast snapped awake at the report of a gunshot. It was followed by the roar of a dragon and another gunshot. Quickly, they scrambled to their feet.

He was off and running toward the source of the sounds before he realized that he had nothing to fight with except a few infant materia. But it didn't matter; he'd never been the type to back down from someone in need of assistance; it was why he'd ended up in a coffin in the basement of the Shinra Mansion.

He and the Galian Beast broke into a clearing a few hundred yards away to see a familiar figure facing off against a pair of dark dragons.

"Yuffie…?"

The Beast didn't share his confusion; he barreled into the nearest dragon biting and clawing. Both dragons were distracted by his assault and Yuffie took the opportunity to fire another shot into one of them.

Vincent felt the darkness he'd been fighting all the way down the mountain surge up in response to the danger, promising some kind of help. He wasn't sure what it was; it didn't feel like a limit break, precisely, but if he could use it to help Yuffie, he would.

Taking a breath and spreading his arms, Vincent released the darkness.


	24. darkness

_21,532 words in this fic now, tho only 654 are in this installment. i'm still amazed that it evolved into this from the little one-shot it was intended to be. then, i find myself being a little sad that its almost done. only two or three more installments to go before its all finished. i'll be both relieved and sad to see it go._

_oh, and by the way, please don't hate me for my use of the art of the cliffhanger. i have to stop at some wierd points lately because my computer is spazzy right now._

**

* * *

****Chapter 24**

Yuffie was surprised when the third monster joined the fray, but it seemed to be on her side, so she wasn't going to argue. She shot the larger dragon again while the monsters were distracted.

A moment later, she was knocked to the ground by the third monster, who she realized looked a lot like the Galian Beast. Death Penalty was knocked out of her hand and went sliding off to her left, but that quickly became the last of her worries.

The air around them went black, laced with tiny crackles of lightning and small explosions. It seared her lungs and eyes, making her feel like she was being burned inside and out. The darkness compressed her with all the force of Ultima. Yuffie tried to scream, like she heard the dragons doing, but all that came out was a blood choked gurgle.

This was no dark dragon attack that she had ever seen or felt.

The ninja tried to force her head to turn, to find the source of the attack, but she was completely paralyzed. Totally helpless against whatever was out there.

She didn't have anymore time for regrets before she blacked out.

* * *

As the last tendrils of his attack slammed into the dragons, Vincent saw that they were still standing. And that Yuffie was pinned to the ground under the Galian Beast.

Neither of them were moving.

_Shit. I wasn't expecting that. Now what do I do?_

He spotted Death Penalty laying on the ground a few feet away, and thanked the Planet for small favors. If he was fast enough, he could grab the rifle, take out the dragons and still save Yuffie. As tired as he was, he wasn't sure if he had a chance, but he had to try.

Vincent sprinted for his gun, praying to anyone who was listening that he would be quick enough.

As his hand closed around the rifle's stock, an unearthly scream sounded behind him. He turned and saw Chaos plunging a spear into the head of one of the dragons. With the coldness produced by years of being in the Turks, Vincent refused to show he surprise at the demon's presence. Instead, he fired at the remaining dragon, hitting the monster in the head. It looked confused for a moment before it fell down dead.

Without pausing, the gunslinger ran to Yuffie's side. He was met by Chaos, who was pulling the Galian Beast off the girl.

"**What happened to her?"** the demon asked.

"I'm not really sure," Vincent replied.

"**They both look like they got caught in front of my limit break." **Chaos pinned him with a worried gaze that Vincent knew mirrored his own. **"What did you do, Vincent?"**

quickly, Vincent explained the darkness that he had been feeling as well as he could. Chaos was silent until he finished, then he asked, **"Do you have a remedy?"**

Vincent unslung his backpack and began looking through it. He thought he remembered finding one after a battle, and he smiled in relief when his hand closed around the small vial. "Just one," he said, pulling it out of the bag.

"**It will be enough. The effects will wear off the Galian Beast before he suffers any permanent damage."**

"Is this your limit break, then?" Vincent asked, cradling Yuffie against his chest and forcing the remedy into her mouth.

"**Indeed. It seems the Planet didn't separate us as well as we thought." **Chaos pulled a potion out of Vincent's bag and handed it to the gunman. **"She'll need that too."**

Vincent forced the potion into her mouth as well. The ninja coughed and nuzzled her face against his chest, but didn't wake.

"Will she be all right?"

**_Gods, I hope so. _"She should be. But it will be best to let her wake on her own."**

_Please let her be all right, _the gunman unknowingly echoed the demon's prayer.


	25. reunion 1

_hoorah! hal wasn't being quite so spazzy today, so i managed to get another chapter up. if i'm really good, i mght have another too!_**

* * *

**

**Chapter 25**

For a long moment, Vincent sat stroking Yuffie's hair with his good hand. Then he said to Chaos, "You left us."

"**I had to."** Chaos looked down at the unconscious girl**. "You would never have made it down the mountain without supplies. I wasn't going to just let you die again."**

"And you brought Yuffie back to get me?"

"**And Highwind. He was the only one of your friends who believed Yuffie and I."**

"I didn't fucking believe you," Cid said, coming up beside them. "Not until we found his cloak in that cave. I just came along to make sure nothing happened to Yuffie." The pilot shot a look back at the corpses of the dragons. "And did you have to leave my spear stuck in the goddamn dragon?"

Chaos regarded Cid for a moment before asking**, "Would you rather I had let Yuffie die while I retrieved it?"**

"Well…no." Cid took a good look at the girl Vincent was holding and blanched. "Fuck, I didn't think she was that bad. What the hell happened?"

"**My limit break," **Chaos replied. **"It has an effect similar to Hades' Black Cauldron. But my Darkness makes him look like a rookie."**

"Why didn't you ever use it before?" Vincent asked.

"**Limit breaks can't use limit breaks."**

"Of course."

Before the conversation could be continued further, the Galian Beast whined and staggered to his feet. He caught sight of Chaos and nuzzled the demon affectionately before looking to Vincent and Yuffie. The Beast whined as the looked at the injured girl.

"She'll be all right, Beast," the gunslinger told him. "You did well. I doubt Yuffie would have survived without you."

The Galian Beast looked extremely pleased at Vincent's words. He settled back onto his haunches as Chaos reached over and scratched his head.

"This is touching, really," Cid broke in, "But let's get the kid back to the ship where we can take care of her right."

"**Highwind is right." **Chaos stood up and reached out to take Yuffie. **"You're exhausted, Vincent. Let me carry her."**

Vincent found himself hesitating to give Yuffie to the demon. Now that he had her back, even if she was unconscious, he didn't want to let her go—not to anyone, not for any reason. He just wanted to hold her until he knew she was all right.

But Cid was right; they should go to the ship where they could care for her properly. And Chaos was also right; he was only keeping his eyes open by force of will. He wouldn't be able to carry his love back to the airship in the worn condition he was in. Vincent placed a kiss on the ninja's forehead and let the demon take her.

Cid extended a hand to the gunman and pulled Vincent to his feet. Then, to the surprise of Vincent and Chaos, the pilot pulled him into a quick hug.

"I never thought I'd really be glad ta see you, Vince, but I am. Its _damn_ good to see you." The pilot grinned as he pushed the stunned gunslinger away from him. "But don't you _ever_ tell Barret I did that. I'd never hear the end."

The gunslinger smiled in response. "I'll take it to my grave."

"Good. Let's get the hell outta here."

* * *

Chaos gently laid Yuffie in the bed of her cabin and Vincent pulled the blankets up over her. He tried to piece together in his head exactly what he was feeling, but he couldn't. He was confused.

Because when he'd seen Vincent out in that clearing in the Sleeping Forest, he'd felt the same way he did whenever he saw Yuffie. It was…unsettling, to say the least.

_**How can I love them both? They're so different, and Vincent is male! Am I truly that attention starved?**_

Vincent looked at the demon in concern. "Are you all right, Chaos?"

The demon blinked, then looked at him. **"Fine. Why?"**

"You looked lost. If you want to talk…" He was exhausted, but if Chaos needed him, he would do what he could to help.

"**Not now, Vincent. After you've rested, perhaps."** But the demon doubted he'd talk even then.

Vincent nodded, to tired to really argue with his friend. "You should rest too. You're acting strange."

"**Soon. Go to bed, Vincent. Yuffie will have my wings for wall mounts if I let anything else happen to you."**

The gunslinger chuckled. "She would. But I'll have your wings for wall mounts if you don't take care of yourself."

Chaos looked at Vincent in shock. **_Am I that important to him?_**

"Don't look so shocked that I care." Vincent pulled off his boots, then lay down on the bed beside Yuffie. He still wasn't willing to stray too far from her side. "Good night, Chaos."

"**Good night, Vincent."**

As Vincent drifted off to sleep, Chaos turned the desk chair around to straddle its back. He sat with his chin resting on his arms, and thought about his situation.

**_Ilrya, beloved, what do I do?_ **


	26. dialogue

_woohoo! i'm so proud of me! two chapters of the same fic in the same day! forgive me, everyone, this one is largely dialogue between cid and chaos._**

* * *

**

**Chapter 26**

He had been sitting, motionless, in the same spot since Vincent fell asleep. Highwind had come in once, to check on them, and bring him something to eat. The Galian Beast had wandered in with the pilot and now lay at Chaos' feet. The food Cid had brought sat untouched on the desk.

_**I would stand at the gates of Hell and face down the armies of the demon gods with my bare hands to keep anything from separating the two of you again. Even myself.**_

_**Until I truly know my feelings in this, I think I must leave.**_

Yuffie sighed in her sleep and turned over, snuggling up against Vincent. The gunman smiled in his sleep but didn't stir. Chaos watched his beloved humans, and thought that they looked beautiful together.

Sighing inwardly, he rose from the chair. Perhaps talking to Highwind would help him figure things out. The Galian Beast lifted his head to look at the demon, but Chaos motioned him to stay put. Silently, he left the room.

When he stepped onto the bridge, Cid was staring out the front view port at the ocean. "I wondered how long it'd be before you showed up here."

"**You seem to have come to know me well."** Chaos joined the pilot by the window.

"A little." The pilot pulled a cigarette out of his pack, then offered the demon one. Chaos gave him a quizzical look and declined. "Probably a good idea. These things'll kill ya. So, what's eatin' ya now?"

"**Is it possible to love two people at the same time?"**

"Its not impossible. I've never heard of it working out for more than a few months though. Feelin' a little more than platonic for Vince, are you?" The pilot lit his cigarette and took a drag.

The demon's silence answered his question.

"I ain't gonna toss ya off the ship for that. Feelings ain't somethin' you can really control. Tell me about your girl."

Chaos was surprised by the request. **"What?"**

"Your girl. Ilrya. Seems like she's still important to you. Tell me about her. Take your mind off Vince and Yuffie."

The demon didn't see the point, but he complied. **"Ilrya was the princess of a neighboring kingdom. An ally of my land both before the war and during. She was kind, but strong willed. She believed that demons and humans were equals, and went so far as to marry me to seal our alliance and prove her point.**

"**She was seventeen when we were married. It was a human ceremony and I had no idea what to do, but she assured me that all I had to do was show up and her father would take care of everything else. It wasn't quite that simple, but I got through it. I wasn't in love with her then, but I grew to love her over time. The first months of our marriage were much like courting; we even stayed in opposite wings of my stronghold until I realized how strongly I felt for her.**

"**When I confessed my love, she smiled and told me that she had been madly in love with me since she was a child. We were nearly inseparable after that, even when she was ill. She was my world."**

When the demon fell silent, Cid asked, "What did she look like?"

The demon sighed. **"Yuffie. Her hair was longer, and she always wore it braided, but Yuffie could be her clone. It was a shock, to say the least, to wake and see Yuffie."**

"That what attracted you to her?" Chaos wasn't sure he liked Cid's line of questioning.

But he answered. **"No. Her resemblance to my beloved kept me away from her. I didn't want to be reminded of Ilrya. I just wanted to be alone with my pain. Its Cloud's fault, really, that we ended up spending so much time together."**

"You still love Ilrya?"

"**Yes. But she has been dead for a very long time. I can't unlove her, but I have moved on."**

The pilot nodded. "You love Yuffie?"

"**You have to ask?"**

"I want you to say it."

"**Yes. I love her. Even if she could never love me back."**

"And you love Vincent?"

Chaos hesitated, unsure of what it would mean if he put his feelings into words. Saying it out loud would make it more real, somehow. But Cid was waiting for his answer. **"Yes."**

"Then stop being such a baby about it and tell them. The worst they can do is reject you, and you're already doin' that to yourself."


	27. confession

_chapters 27 and 28 will make four chapters that i've managed to post in 24 hours. a personal record for me. but the grabbed ahold of me just after i laid down for bed and wouldn't let go. so i had to get up and get it all written down before i lost it all. its 0405 as i'm posting these two chapters, and while i'm pretty bushed now, i am really proud of myself._**

* * *

**

**Chapter 27**

When he came back to the cabin, Vincent was awake. The gunman was still laying in the bed, head propped on his good hand, watching Yuffie sleep.

"Did you know she talks in her sleep?" Vincent asked as he caught sight of the demon.

Chaos smiled weakly. "**Yes. While we were searching, it was mostly about you."**

"You want to talk now." It wasn't a question; Vincent could tell that Chaos' body language was all wrong to want to reminisce about Yuffie's sleeping habits.

"**We need to." **Chaos stepped back into the hallway.

Carefully, Vincent slid out of the bed. He looked over to the Galian Beast, who had taken up a guard position near the door. "Stay here and watch Yuffie."

"What is it?" Vincent asked as he joined the demon in the hall.

"**I have a confession to make to you, Vincent."**

The gunslinger was immediately disturbed by the serious implications of what was about to be said. Chaos had never called him by his first name unless it was serious. "All right."

"**Hear me out until the end, Vincent. Please don't ask questions or say anything until I'm done. If you interrupt, I may never manage to finish."**

Vincent nodded. "All right."

"**It took a little time for me to do the math on the years, but a millennium ago, I was mated to a human woman named Ilrya. She was killed in a war while I was on the front lines. We had parted on angry terms; I didn't even say goodbye before I left. I went mad after her death.**

"**My rage and sorrow, running rampant and unchecked eventually marked my defeat at the hands of four young warriors who had set out to save the world I was destroying in my quest for vengeance. Their power didn't kill me, thought it should have. Instead it put me to sleep.**

"**I slept for nine hundred sixty years before Hojo woke and imprisoned me. I don't remember the process of being bonded to you very well; there was too much pain. But after the Shinra left the mansion, we both slept.**

"**When Cloud woke you the day you joined AVALANCHE, the first person I saw was Yuffie. My powers were still blocked from your use, but I could use your eyes and ears. When I saw Yuffie Kisaragi I thought I was looking at my beloved Ilrya again.**

"**I wanted to stay as far from her as I could, but you insisted on spending time with her when Cloud began putting you on watch together. I came to know her as you did, and I realized that while she looked exactly like my beloved--and shared some of her traits--she was not Ilrya. She was someone interesting and unique.**

"**I was happy for you when you realized that you had fallen in love with her. She was good for you—for both of us, really. The light our dark lives needed.**

"**When you were freezing to death in that cave, she was the only person I could think of who would be willing to believe my story and come to help you. So I brought her to the cave to save you. While we were searching for you, I realized that I was in love with her too."**

Vincent waited for a moment after Chaos stopped speaking to be sure the demon was finished. "In all my life, no one has ever done something so selfless for me. Despite the fact that you love her, you brought her back to me. I'm sure you think I hate you, but nothing could be farther from the truth."

"**You might want to rethink that position, Vincent." **Chaos looked at the floor, unable to meet the gunslinger's eyes. **"Because I think I'm in love with you too."**

Vincent felt like Chaos had punched him in the stomach. "What?"

The demon didn't look up. **"When I saw you out there, raising Death Penalty against the dragons, I felt for you exactly what I feel for Yuffie. I'm still feeling it, every time I look at you."**

"But…That's…It's crazy. You can't be in love with me."

"**Why not? Because you're male? Because it makes you uncomfortable? I wish it would be that simple. Don't think I don't know how wrong it is.**

"**That's why I'm leaving."

* * *

**

Yuffie was looking at the Galian Beast with a slightly perplexed expression when Vincent came back into the room. She lit up like the sun when she saw him.

"Vincent!" The ninja flew out of the bed and launched herself into his arms. "You're here! I thought I was just dreaming that I heard your voice."

Oblivious to his troubled mood, she pulled his head down and kissed him soundly. When they broke apart, she asked, "Does Chaos know?"

"Yes."

"Well, where is he? I thought he'd want to be here."

"Yuffie, Chaos is leaving us."

"What?" Yuffie wasn't quite sure she had heard right.

"He told me that he was in love with us. Both of us. And then he told me he was leaving because it was wrong." Vincent still wasn't sure how he felt about the demon's confession, but he did know that he didn't want him gone. "He just went on deck. I don't think I can stop him from leaving."

Pulling herself away from Vincent, Yuffie sprinted for the deck.

* * *

_some of you may have caught my vague refrence to the origonal final fantasy in chaos' backstory. cookies for those of you who did. for those of you who didn't, chaos was the name of the final boss in FF1. no one has ever really made a big deal about it, but i caught the obvious refrence the first time i played FF7. its never really explained in-game whychaos istrying to destroy the world in the first one, so i played with it a little._


	28. departure

**Chapter 28**

She caught him just as he was getting ready to jump over the guardrail and into the air.

"I thought you'd always be here for me!"

"**I was wrong. I would stand at the gates of hell and fight the armies of the demon gods barehanded to keep you and Vincent together. But if I stay, I will only tear us all apart." **Chaos looked over the side of the ship, refusing to meet the tearful gaze of the girl.

"I thought you loved me." Tears trickled down Yuffie's face as she spoke.

Her words strike him like a hammer's blow, and whatever was left of his heart shatters into pieces. **"I do. I love you so much it hurts."**

"But you're gonna go anyway. Just up and leave us all."

"**I have to do this, Yuffie. Its better this way; I'm not some fairy tale beast for you to save."**

"Vincent told me what you said to him."

Chaos whipped his head around to look her in the eyes. **"Then you have to understand why it's so wrong for me to stay!"**

Yuffie clenched her fists and glared at him. "How can it be wrong, when its never been done before? What if it's what I want?"

He had forgotten what it was like to cry—he hadn't done it since Ilrya died. Chaos closed his eyes against the tears welling up in his own eyes. The little ninja who could have been his wife was so close to breaking his resolve, to convincing him that it was a stupid idea and dragging him back inside.

He had to go now, or he wouldn't at all. Or at least, not until it was far too late to repair the damage. **"I'm sorry, beloved. I have to go."**

Yuffie watched, sobbing as the demon she had somehow grown to love dived off the Highwind and out of her life.

_

* * *

Before I start getting hate mail about Chaos leaving, let me say that I cried like a baby while I was writing this. I've always known that he was going to leave, but I didn't expect the impact that it had on me. I hope it had the same on you._

_By the way, sorry to Ezri-Candy and Sorceress Fujin. I know you guys were both wanting them to all live happily ever after. But some people just don't ever get their happy ending, and Chaos seems like one of those kind of guys._

_An incredibly short chapter, I know, but it kept me up for an extra two hours writing. It popped into my head just the way I wanted it and wouldn't let go for anything. I'll be a zombie tomorrow at work, but its worth it._


	29. return

_somehow, as i was writing out the ending chapters, i grew a thirty first one. so, there'll be two more after this one. :-)_**

* * *

**

**Chapter 29**

The flight back to Midgar was subdued. Even Cid was quiet, sensing the sorrow hanging over the reunited couple. He too, was disappointed that Chaos was gone.

"I cannot believe that he just left like that," Vincent told Cid as they stood on the deck of the airship, waiting for Yuffie so they could disembark.

"I can't either," the pilot replied. "I know he had some shit to work out, but I thought he'd be smarter about it than this."

The clicking of the Galian Beast's claws on the metal warned the men that Yuffie was coming on deck. The creature had been inseparable from the sorrowful ninja since Chaos left. He was an unintentional reminder of what had been lost, but he actually provided some small comfort to the girl.

"Are you ready to go?" Vincent asked, extending his hand to her.

She took it, squeezing it briefly. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Cid nodded and threw the ladder over the side of the ship. The pilot went down first, and the Galian Beast ran back inside to the chocobo hold where Cid would let him out from the ground.

"Vincent?" Yuffie asked after the pilot was out of earshot.

"Yes?" the gunman gave her a worried look.

She smiled briefly. "Don't look at me like that. It isn't bad.

"Its just that my father's gonna make me marry some loser from Wutai when I go home. Unless I'm already married, that is."

"Yuffie?"

"And I don't want anybody but you." _And Chaos. _"So, I guess what I want to know is, do you wanna get married?"

As far as proposals went, Yuffie was pretty sure it was bad, but girls didn't usually do the proposing anyway. She just hoped that Vincent's long silence didn't mean that he thought she was asking because she felt abandoned.

Finally, the gunman spoke. "Yuffie, before I can give you an answer, I have to know if this is about Chaos. I know he hurt you."

"Yeah, he hurt me. But he also taught me that I can't just sit on things the way I usually do. This is about you and me, not him. I love you and I want to be with you forever. Longer, if you let me."

Vincent wasn't sure that everything she was saying was true; she had been far too broken up over Chaos' departure to want only him. Strangely, though, he wasn't jealous of the demon.

It surprised him to realize that he missed Chaos almost as much as she did.

Yuffie sighed and pulled away from Vincent as he thought, mistaking his silence for refusal. She didn't say anything, just started down the ladder.

"Yuffie, wait!"

When the ninja stopped, Vincent knelt down on the deck in front of her.

"I love you, Yuffie, and I would be happy to have you forever. But I won't accept that I'm the only one you want. We both know its not true, and I won't go into a permanent relationship with you while we're lying to ourselves about Chaos.

"And if he comes home, we'll make it work."

"Vincent, do you really mean it?" Yuffie looked up at him with hopeful, tear-filled eyes.

"Yes."

Almost before the words left his lips, Vincent found himself being passionately kissed by the ninja. When he pulled away, he asked, "Does this mean you accept my terms?"

"Leviathan, yes! It was more than I was hoping for. I was afraid that—"

Vincent placed a finger over her lips. "I know."

She kissed him again, this time with less desperate passion and more true affection, relieved that he wanted the demon to come home, too. And that he wanted them all together.

"Will you two get of the damn ship and get a fucking room!"

the couple looked down at Cid who was waiting on the ground with Tifa and—of all people—Reno for them to disembark. Yuffie grinned and waved to them.

"Let's go," Vincent said, "Before Cid decides that we're going to defile his precious ship."

Yuffie giggled, and Vincent smiled, glad that he had managed to break through at least a little of her depression.


	30. domestic life

_just one more chapter after this. i'm actually feeling pretty accomplished knowing this is going to be finished up today. _

_(had to make some minor edits right after posting this chapter. sorry if anyone was confused.)_**

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**

**Chapter 30**

_**Three years later**_

_Our daughter is beautiful. _Yuffie smiled, looking down at the raven-haired three-month-old asleep in her crib. "How was she today, Rude?"

"An angel," the dark skinned Turk smiled as he replied.

"I hope she stays that way. How much do we owe you?" The ninja gestured for Rude to follow her out of the baby's room.

"I've told you before, I won't take your money. I like watching Anessa." Rude grinned ruefully. "And it gets Reno off my back about getting out of the house more."

As they walked down the hall, Yuffie noticed that the Turk was favoring his bad leg more than usual. "You having trouble with your prosthetic again?"

"I messed it up in training yesterday. Its nothing Reeve can't fix when I go in tomorrow." He seemed unconcerned, so Yuffie decided not to worry about it anymore.

When they arrived in the living room, Rude sat down in Yuffie's rocking chair—his favorite seat when he was at their house—while the ninja sat on the handmade couch. "You're still coming over Sunday, right?"

"Sephiroth couldn't stop me."

"Am I going to have to start worrying about my daughter's virtue?" Vincent asked, coming in the front door, Galian Beast in tow.

"No worries, Valentine," Rude replied. "She's not my type."

"That's a relief." Vincent tossed his cloak over the back of the couch, then sat down next to his wife. "I don't think we could fit you and Reno into this place."

Rude chuckled and shook his head. Yuffie was amazed, as always, at the easy camaraderie between herself, Vincent and the Turks. A little over three years ago, they were enemies trying to kill each other; now the Turks babysat for the Valentines whenever they both had to be gone. It was nice, but a little surreal.

"I never asked before," Rude said suddenly, "But why didn't you ever go back to Nibelheim or Wutai? Why stay in Midgar?"

_Because if Chaos comes home, he'll know he's welcome here, _Yuffie wanted to answer.

"We like it here," Vincent answered, pre-empting any reply from the ninja. "And since Godo remarried and Yuffie's brother was born last year, Wutai doesn't need us. This is home now."

The bald man nodded his understanding.

* * *

After dinner, Vincent found Yuffie in their bedroom, sitting on the bed and flipping through the wedding album Elena had made for them. He stood in the doorway, just watching her for a long moment before saying anything.

"It was a beautiful wedding, wasn't it?"

Yuffie smiled and looked up at him. "Yeah, even if the cat shredded my veil and the Galian Beast wouldn't let half the guests into the church."

"He's just overly protective of us." Vincent sat down on the bed and put an arm around his wife. "He's curled up like a dog next to Nessa's bed right now, watching her. I like it when those are the only kind of problems we have."

Yuffie snuggled into her husband's embrace with a sigh. "Yeah, but sometimes it gets boring, you know?"

"I prefer boredom with you and Nessa to excitement alone."

"I think I do, too." Yuffie looked up at him, a smile lighting her face. "I love you Vincent Valentine."

"And I love you, Yuffie Kisaragi," he smiled.

"Its Valentine. Yuffie _Valentine_."

"I know. I just like hearing you say it." The gunslinger leaned down and pressed his lips to the ninja's.

In her room, Anessa began crying.

Yuffie pulled away from her husband and started to get up. Vincent put a restraining hand on her leg. "I'll get her. Rude isn't the only one who likes taking care of our daughter."

Yuffie smiled as she watched him leave the room. Sometimes she couldn't believe they were here together, and with a daughter no less. Most days, she still woke up expecting to find herself in the middle of nowhere, one hand on her weapon, ready to take on the first of the day's monsters.

But aside from a few scattered monster attacks on the city now and then, those days were long gone. No more fighting for AVALANCHE; everyone was well into domestic life now, even workaholic Reeve. They hadn't grown apart, despite the distances between some of them, but their weapons mostly hung on the walls gathering dust now.

With a sigh, she took Death Penalty down from its resting place on the wall over the bed. "Vince, I'm going out to put in some target practice."

"Take the Galian Beast with you," Vincent replied. "He's getting underfoot."

She laughed at the thought of the seven foot tall creature "getting underfoot" as she walked to Anessa's room.

"C'mon, Beast. Let's go out for a while."

* * *

She was glad they lived at the edge of Midgar whenever she got into one of her restless moods. There was no shortage of monsters in the ruins near their house, and if those were scarce she could always venture a little way into the plains. Mostly, though, she hunted the ruins; it was community service and stress relief in one shot.

She had picked off two ghosts and was searching for another target when a voice called out from behind her.

"Miss Yuffie, you have to come!"

Yuffie lowered Death Penalty and looked over at the youngest of their neighbors. "What is it, Dana?"

The girl had clearly been running. "Mama said she saw a big monster at your house! You have to come!" she panted.

Yuffie didn't wait for more information. She sprinted for her house.

_Please, Leviathan, don't let anything have happened to them._


	31. reunion 2

_and here it is: the final chapter of sunrise sherbet. more notes at the end._**

* * *

**

**Chapter 31**

She sent the Galian Beast to take Dana home. She had to protect her family, but she wasn't going to do it at the expense of another child's life. And the sound of gunfire in the neighborhood would bring Rude and Reno out of their house to help, too.

After this, they were getting another rifle for her to target shoot with; Vincent was not going to be left home alone with the baby with nothing but handguns again.

Yuffie slowed down as she approached her house, trying to pick out the monster in the summer evening twilight. Her eyes widened when she saw the large black shape crouched on their porch railing, peering into the living room window.

Death Penalty dropped from her nerveless finger into the dirt at her feet.

"Chaos?"

* * *

The demon whipped his head around at the sound of his name. Seeing Yuffie, standing in front of him with shock written plainly across her face, was killing all the resolve he had built up to come here. 

"You're home," she whispered.

Chaos felt some of his nervous tension drain away when she said that. He had expected her to be angry and yell at him. Or even shoot him. But, despite her shock, her voice was welcoming.

"**Highwind said I could find you here."**

"I should be angry," Yuffie replied, walking toward him. "I should yell or scream or shoot you or something. But I'm just too happy to see you."

Chaos found himself climbing down from the railing and holding his arms out to the ninja.

Yuffie flung herself into his embrace with a sob. "Promise me you're staying."

"**I swear it. I shouldn't have left in the first place."**

"We built the house big enough for you too. Come inside."

Not sure what kind of reception to expect from Vincent, Chaos nervously followed Yuffie inside.

* * *

If he had been holding anything besides Anessa, Vincent probably would have dropped it when he saw Chaos come into the house behind Yuffie. 

"Careful!" Yuffie said, rushing forward and taking their daughter from him.

When Anessa was safely in his wife's arms, the gunslinger advanced on the demon and punched him. Chaos' head snapped around, but he didn't make a sound.

"Do you have any idea what you put us through for the last three years? What you've put Yuffie through?"

"Vincent—"

"**Let him finish, Yuffie," **Chaos told her.** "Its nothing I don't deserve."**

Vincent glared at the demon as he continued. "Do you know what its like to get up every morning hoping to find the missing part of your soul, but going to bed every night without it again? Not knowing if that person is alive or not?"

Yuffie was surprised to see tears streaming down her husband's face. She hadn't known he cared for the demon so deeply.

Chaos apparently had not known either, judging from his expression. **"Vincent, I…I'm sorry. I truly thought it would be best for the two of you if I left."**

"You should have discussed that with us," Vincent said, rubbing his eyes with a shirtsleeve. "It wasn't your decision to make alone. We wanted you with us."

Yuffie put a hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Vincent, stop. Chaos is home now; that's all that matters."

Vincent extended his clawed arm and pulled Yuffie to his side. "You're right."

Then he looked to Chaos and extended his hand. "Welcome home."

Tentatively, Chaos put his hand into Vincent's. The gunslinger gripped it tightly, then pulled the demon into an embrace.

Chaos felt like a weight had been lifted from his heart as he wrapped his arms around his beloved humans. Nothing he had imagined had been like the homecoming he had received.

"**I love you,"** he whispered into the gunslinger's hair.

"And I love you," Vincent replied. "Don't ever leave us again."

"**Never."**

Yuffie smiled, tears of joy flooding her eyes. "I love you guys so much."

Anessa gave a cry at being squashed between three much larger bodies. Vincent laughed and loosened his embrace so that Yuffie could back out.

"I'm going to see if Reno and Rude can watch her for the night," Yuffie said. "I think we'll be watching the sunrise tonight."

* * *

_59 pages  
26,710 words  
120,293 characters (without spaces)  
1,176 paragraphs_

_it was one hell of a ride. had some ups and downs (particularly when chapter three got lost entirely for nearly a year) but its been a great trip. i hope all of you enjoyed it as much as i did._

_a couple of things tho,_

_1. Cid was never supposed to be Chaos' confidant. he was supposed to fill that role for yuffie, and the demon was supposed to angst away on his own. he's such a bossy old man when he wants to be._

_2. yes, rude and reno are a couple. i want zero crap about it._

_3. rude and elena were acutally supposed to die. but the idea of rude being their babysitter was just too cute and i couldn't pass it up._

_4. yes, i may eventually do a sequel, but i have a lot of other projects to finish up first. (particularly valentine, demon's bane, taken and several contest entries for deviantart.)_

_thanks and luffs to all my reviewers. you've been great. and i'm sure i'll see you down the road later._

_eerian_


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